The Casino Experience
A casino is an entertainment establishment primarily built to draw in people with money to gamble. Its elaborate theme, lighted fountains and shopping centers help to draw in customers, but casinos would not exist without the billions of dollars in profits generated by games of chance such as blackjack, slot machines, poker and craps. Casinos provide a wide variety of gambling experiences, from the traditional table games to electronic versions of these classics. Despite the long-term disadvantages of these games, they offer players a chance to win huge sums in short periods.
Something about gambling seems to encourage people to cheat or steal in order to boost their winnings, and casinos spend a lot of time and money on security. Elaborate surveillance systems offer a high-tech eye-in-the-sky, with cameras watching every table, change window and doorway. These can be adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons by security workers in a separate room filled with banks of monitors.
In addition to this visible surveillance, there are invisible methods of monitoring gamblers’ activity. For instance, in “chip tracking,” betting chips have built-in microcircuitry that interacts with the gaming system to allow casinos to oversee minute-by-minute amounts wagered and to quickly detect any anomalies. Roulette wheels are also monitored electronically to detect any statistical deviations from their expected results.
Casinos earn a large percentage of their profit from slot machines, which require no player skill. A player inserts cash, pulls a handle or pushes a button and watches bands of colored shapes roll past on reels (either physical or video). When the right pattern appears, the machine pays out a predetermined amount. Slots have a reputation for fairness, but they are not completely honest: They can be adjusted to pay out anything from nothing at all to more than the maximum amount that a player has wagered.
Poker is another popular casino game that requires some degree of skill to play well, but the house still has a long-term advantage over players. This advantage is reflected in the vig or rake, which casinos collect from each pot. Casinos may also offer free goods and services to big gamblers, such as hotel rooms, food, show tickets and limo service.
Gambling probably dates back thousands of years, with primitive protodice and carved six-sided dice found in many archaeological sites. But the modern casino as we know it did not develop until the 16th century, when a gambling craze swept Europe. Italian nobles began hosting private parties called ridotti, where they played a variety of games under one roof. These parties eventually grew into the casino as we know it today.
