A casino is an entertainment venue that offers a variety of gambling games. Though a casino’s musical shows, lighted fountains, shopping centers and lavish hotels may draw in visitors, the billions of dollars it makes every year are from the games of chance. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and keno are the games that provide casinos with their massive profits.
Gambling in all its forms-from the casual with a bookie to the high stakes with a professional dealer-has been part of human civilization for millennia. Archeological evidence of wooden blocks used for gaming dates back to 2300 BC, while dice appeared around 500 AD and playing cards rose to prominence in the 1400s. But it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that the idea of an enclosed facility with table games and a variety of betting options became popular.
The first such casino opened in Monte-Carlo in 1863, attracting European royalty and aristocracy from across the continent. Its popularity spread, and other casinos soon followed suit. Today, a casino is a luxurious and sophisticated place that promises an unforgettable experience.
Casinos are equipped with the latest technology to make sure they keep their profits flowing, from cameras that record everything from blatant cheating to tiny discrepancies in wheel spins and ball speed. Security personnel also watch players’ body language, note how often they change their bets and look for patterns that might signal a dishonest play.
Keeping track of all the bets and the results of those bets isn’t easy. To do so, casinos employ mathematicians and computer programmers who specialize in gaming analysis. They calculate the house edge and variance of each game, which tells the casino how much it is likely to lose or gain in a certain amount of time.
While a casino’s flamboyance and glitz draw in the casual gambler, the vast majority of its visitors are high rollers. These are people who spend tens of thousands of dollars or more, and casinos compete to lure them with free rooms, meals and other perks. Some casinos even have separate floors for high rollers, with a more intimate atmosphere and fewer distractions.
Casinos are found all over the world, from Venice to Monaco to Singapore. But some are more famous than others, whether for their architecture, location or the movies that have been filmed there. Here are 10 of the most recognizable casinos in the world.