A Casino is a place where champagne glasses clink and locals and tourists mingle in a buzz of excitement. While a casino may be a hub for gambling games, it also hosts other forms of entertainment like musical performances and stand-up comedy. But the main reason to visit a casino is to try your hand at one of the many table or slot games available.
Gambling in its various forms has been around for as long as humans have. While modern casinos add luxuries to attract patrons, they still make most of their money from games of chance like blackjack, poker, roulette, craps and slots. In fact, even your grandmother probably took weekend bus trips to the nearest casino with her friends.
Despite their attraction to gamblers, casinos are not without their dark side. The sheer volume of money that is handled within a casino makes it an attractive target for organized crime. In the past, mobster involvement was very common in casinos, but federal crackdowns and the prospect of losing a gaming license at even the slightest hint of mob involvement forced these criminal elements to leave the business. This allowed real estate investors and hotel chains to acquire casinos, taking over the management from gangsters.
As for the actual games of chance, every game has a mathematical expected value that ensures the house always wins over the players, no matter what they do or how long they play. In addition to these basic mechanics, most casinos have elaborate rules of conduct and behavior that are designed to protect their profits and the safety of their patrons.