A casino is a place where people can gamble and play games of chance. In many cases, these games are based on a certain amount of skill (such as baccarat), but they mostly depend on luck. The house always has an advantage over the players, which is known as the expected value or “house edge.” In some cases, the advantage is even greater than the amount of money a player can win on a single game. For this reason, casinos are often very choosy about the patrons they accept and offer them extravagant inducements such as free spectacular entertainment, luxury living quarters and reduced-fare transportation to and from the casino.
Something about gambling seems to encourage cheating, stealing and scamming. This is why casinos spend a large amount of time, effort and money on security. It starts on the casino floor, where employees watch the games and patrons to ensure that all goes as it should. Dealers have a close eye on their own games and can easily spot blatant cheating such as palming, marking or switching cards or dice. Pit bosses and table managers have a broader view of the tables and can watch for betting patterns that might indicate cheating by players. In addition, sophisticated surveillance systems give a high-tech “eye-in-the-sky” view of the entire casino and can be focused on suspicious patrons by security workers in a separate room filled with banks of video screens.
The typical casino patron in 2005 was a forty-six-year-old female from a household with above-average income. She was probably married and had a child. The casino industry also benefited from the fact that women tend to have more leisure time than men and are therefore more likely to gamble.
