A casino is a gambling establishment. While musical shows, lighted fountains and shopping centers may help attract patrons, casinos would not exist without the billions of dollars in profits derived from games of chance like slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and keno. Casinos have been around for a long time, and the popularity of the casino industry continues to grow worldwide.

Modern casinos are often multi-level, with a variety of gaming areas, restaurants, bars and hotels. They also offer non-gambling activities, such as swimming pools, spas and entertainment venues.

Casinos have a variety of security measures in place to prevent cheating and other illegal activities. Most casinos have a dedicated security force and specialized surveillance departments that work together to protect both the casino and its guests. Security personnel patrol the casino floor, checking on table players to prevent blatant cheating such as palming or marking cards. Casino surveillance systems watch the games and their patrons with a higher view, looking for betting patterns that may indicate cheating.

Aside from physical security, many casinos employ technology to keep gamblers honest. For example, chip tracking in some casino games uses microcircuitry to monitor exact amounts wagered minute-by-minute and alert the casino when a statistical deviation from expected results occurs. In other cases, electronic monitoring can reveal a wide range of anomalies in the operation of casino equipment, including wheel balancing and roulette ball rotation speed. A casino’s head of security is often responsible for overseeing these technologies.