A casino is a building where people can gamble and play games of chance. Casinos are most often located in cities with large populations and a high concentration of tourists, such as Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, and Chicago. Most casinos offer a wide variety of gambling products, but most are best known for poker, blackjack, and roulette.

Although musical shows, lighted fountains and shopping centers help attract patrons, most of a casino’s profits come from gambling. The house edge built into games of chance—such as baccarat, craps, blackjack, roulette, and slot machines—provides the billions in profits that casinos earn every year.

Casinos are designed to maximize customer service and loyalty by offering perks such as free hotel rooms, dinners, show tickets, and even airline and limo service for heavy gamblers. These complimentary items, called comps, are given to players based on their level of play and how much they spend at the casino.

Gambling is a risky business, and casino patrons may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion with employees or on their own. Because so much money changes hands, casinos invest heavily in security measures. These include cameras that cover every table, window and doorway, as well as a network of computers that monitor the action and automatically adjust the payouts on slot machines to eliminate any statistical deviations. Casinos are also staffed with employees trained to spot suspicious behavior. In some cases, patrons may be required to submit a written statement detailing their gambling history.