Casino (Meanings & Use)
A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. It may also refer to a private club or a group of such establishments. In either case, it is usually combined with hotels, restaurants, and/or entertainment venues. Several states have passed laws to permit casinos, and some countries have national casinos.
In general, a casino offers its patrons the opportunity to win money based on luck and skill. Many casino games provide a predictable long-term house advantage, but some have skill elements that allow players to reduce this edge. The games that require the highest degree of skill are card games, such as baccarat and chemin de fer. Other table games include roulette, craps, and blackjack. Casinos also offer a variety of automated and enclosed machine-based games, such as slots, video poker, and keno.
Throughout the 1990s, casinos dramatically increased their use of technology to monitor and enforce their rules, as well as to ensure the fairness of games. For instance, ‘chip tracking’ allows the placement of chips with built-in microcircuitry on tables to enable casino managers to oversee the exact amount wagered minute-by-minute and to warn staff immediately about any anomaly; and roulette wheels are electronically monitored regularly to discover statistical deviations quickly. In addition, casino surveillance departments have a wide range of tools at their disposal, from cameras and microphones to sophisticated signal analysis software. These technologies help casinos prevent cheating and other violations of their rules.