A casino is a public place where games of chance can be played. Modern casinos may offer a lot of fancy amenities like restaurants, stage shows and dramatic scenery, but the fundamentals are still the same: a large collection of gambling games. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and keno are just some of the games that can be found in most casinos.
In addition to standard table and card games, many casinos also offer a number of traditional Far Eastern games such as sic bo (which has become very popular in European and American casinos during the 1990s), fan-tan and pai gow. Some casinos even include specialty games that reflect local culture, such as two-up in Australia, banca francesa in Portugal and boule in France.
Because large sums of money are handled in a casino, there is always the potential for patrons to cheat or steal, either colluding with each other or individually. This is why casinos invest a great deal of time, effort and money on security measures. Elaborate surveillance systems can give a “eye in the sky” view of all tables and change windows, while other cameras can be directed to focus on suspicious patrons.
The biggest concentration of casinos in the United States is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is followed by Atlantic City, New Jersey and then Chicago. Other regions of the country have a smaller number of casinos, including those operated by Native Americans. While some economists believe that casinos bring economic benefits to a region, others point out that gambling addiction can cause a shift in spending away from other forms of entertainment and that the cost of treating compulsive gamblers more than offsets any economic gains.