A casino is a place where people can gamble and play games of chance. Although musical shows, lighted fountains and shopping centers help attract visitors, the vast majority of the profits a casino generates come from gambling. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and other games provide the billions of dollars that casinos rake in each year.
Despite their reputation for being fun and exciting, casinos are not without problems. Something about the presence of large amounts of money seems to encourage cheating and stealing among patrons. That’s why casinos invest so much time, money and energy into security.
Most casinos use a combination of human and electronic surveillance systems to keep an eye on everything that happens inside the gaming floor. Dedicated security workers watch over each game and its players. Pit bosses and table managers patrol the floor, keeping an eye out for blatant cheating such as palming or marking cards or changing dice. Security camera operators have a more broad view of the whole casino and can spot suspicious activity such as crooked dice or erratic betting patterns.
In addition to this visible security, a casino can also be protected from cheaters and thieves by invisible measures. In modern casinos, for instance, every slot machine is wired to a computer that can detect statistical deviations from normal play. These deviations are logged and can be reviewed after the fact to identify cheating. Additionally, the payouts on slot machines are randomly determined by computer chips inside the machines. Casinos sometimes give out free goods or services to high-volume patrons called comps. These are based on the amount of time and money spent at the tables or slots, with some casinos even offering airline tickets or hotel rooms for big spenders.