A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. These gambling houses can be integrated with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships or other tourist attractions. In the United States, casinos are most commonly found in Nevada, but they also can be located in Iowa, New Jersey, and other states that have legalized them. Some casinos may be owned by Indian tribes and operated on their land.
Casinos use a wide range of marketing strategies to attract gamblers. For example, they offer perks to “good” players such as free hotel rooms, meals, show tickets or even limo service and airline tickets. This is known as comping. Casinos also promote themselves in a variety of ways, such as through television and radio advertisements and by distributing flyers.
In addition to advertising and promotional activities, many casinos provide a variety of security measures to ensure the safety of their guests. Typically, a casino employs several people to supervise the floor and the patrons. Dealers are heavily trained to spot blatant cheating, such as palming or marking cards. Pit bosses and table managers have a broader view of the tables and are able to see betting patterns that indicate collusion between players.
In the 1990s, casinos dramatically increased the use of technology to monitor their games. For example, some roulette wheels have built-in microcircuitry that allows the casino to keep track of the exact amounts wagered minute-by-minute, and to discover any statistical deviation from their expected results.