A Casino is a gambling establishment that accepts wagers on various games of chance and skill. It also features prime dining and beverage facilities along with entertainment venues where pop, rock and other music artists come to perform. Many casinos have evolved into complexes that contain not just gaming facilities but also hotels, restaurants and shopping malls.
The largest and most famous casino in the world is located in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It is a glamorous destination that oozes sophistication and is frequented by the elite. Besides having a large selection of table games and slot machines, it is also home to one of the world’s most prestigious poker tournaments, The European Poker Tour.
There are over a thousand casino locations in the United States, with most of them concentrated in areas such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Chicago. The number of casinos has increased steadily as more states legalize them.
Because huge amounts of money are handled within a casino, both patrons and employees may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion or independently. This is why security is a major concern for casino owners. Casinos employ a variety of security measures to prevent such activities. The most obvious are cameras throughout the facility. Other measures include the use of special chips with built-in microcircuitry to monitor betting patterns; electronic systems to oversee the actual amount wagered minute by minute, and to alert dealers quickly if an anomaly is detected; and wheel and dice tracking technologies that record the actual results of each spin.
