A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. It may be combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, and/or other tourist attractions. It also may contain entertainment venues such as shows and/or live music. In addition, it can include one or more gaming tables and a variety of electronic poker machines. In some countries, casinos are also known as “gambling houses”.
A number of places have become famous specifically for their casinos, such as Monte Carlo and Las Vegas. Other locations are known for the casino industry in general, such as Atlantic City and Ocean City, Maryland. In the United States, the term casino usually refers to a gaming establishment operated by a government-licensed operator. In contrast, a pari-mutuel casino or racetrack is operated by an individual, and the games are conducted by that person.
Most casino games involve a mixture of chance and skill. In most cases, the house has a mathematical advantage over the players (except for games such as poker that are played against other people). This edge is typically defined by the law of averages or expected value and is referred to in the gaming industry as the house edge.
Casinos are heavily regulated and often have tight security. They use video cameras to monitor the activities of patrons, and they have catwalks that allow surveillance personnel to look directly down on the tables and slots through one-way glass. In the 1990s, many casinos greatly increased their use of technology for monitoring the actual games; for example, in a process called “chip tracking,” betting chips have built-in microcircuitry that interacts with electronic systems on the table to enable casinos to oversee exactly how much is wagered minute by minute, and to quickly discover any statistical deviation from expected results.