Casino is an entertainment destination that draws in millions of patrons each year. While lighted fountains, musical shows, shopping centers and lavish hotels help to draw people in, the vast majority of casinos’ profits come from games of chance. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and keno are just some of the games that provide the billions in profits raked in by casinos each year.
There is a darker side to the casino business as well. Compulsive gambling is a serious problem that has been shown to erode the financial stability of families and communities, especially in areas that have casinos. Studies also show that gambling revenues shift spending away from other forms of local entertainment, and that the cost of treating problem gamblers and lost productivity from those who work in casinos more than cancel out any economic gains casinos may bring to a community.
Something about the atmosphere in a casino encourages cheating, stealing and other kinds of trouble in order to try to gain an unfair advantage over others. That is why casinos invest so much time and money on security. Security begins on the casino floor, where casino employees keep a close eye on the patrons in order to spot blatant cheating techniques like palming and marking cards or switching dice or chips. In addition, casinos use high-tech “eyes-in-the-sky” surveillance systems that allow security personnel to watch every table, window and doorway from a room filled with banks of monitors.