A casino, also referred to as a gambling hall or a gaming house, is an establishment where people can gamble on games of chance. Successful casinos make billions each year for the companies, investors and Native American tribes that own them. Located in cities and on cruise ships, they may be massive resorts or small card rooms. In addition to traditional table games, many casinos offer a variety of slot machines and video poker.

Casinos have long been romanticized in film and literature with images of high-stakes gambling tables surrounded by elegantly dressed patrons. Although it is possible to win money at a casino, most patrons lose money. Because of this, casinos have strict security measures to prevent cheating or stealing by patrons and employees. Cameras throughout the facility, for example, allow security personnel to keep a close eye on each area of the casino at once. Elaborate surveillance systems also provide a high-tech “eye-in-the-sky,” with cameras that watch every table, change window and doorway. They can be adjusted to focus on certain suspicious patrons by security workers in a separate room filled with banks of monitors.

Security starts on the casino floor, where dealers are able to watch each other and can spot blatant cheating or theft. Each table game has a pit boss or manager who oversees the other players and looks for betting patterns that could indicate crooked play. Similarly, blackjack and roulette wheels are monitored electronically to discover any statistical deviation from their expected results.