A casino is a place where gambling is the primary activity and is surrounded by noise, lights and excitement. While modern casinos add other amenities such as restaurants, shopping centers, stage shows and dramatic scenery to draw in customers, they would not exist without games of chance like roulette, craps, baccarat, blackjack, video poker and slot machines. These games provide the billions in profits raked in by casino owners each year.

Casinos have a built-in advantage over their patrons because of mathematically determined odds that ensure they will make a profit. This is called the house edge. This advantage is one of the reasons why it’s very hard to win more than you wager. Nevertheless, casino patrons may be tempted to cheat and steal, either in collusion or independently. That’s why casinos have many security measures in place to prevent this.

Although casinos have been around for centuries, they became popular in the United States when legalized by state legislation in the late 1800s. Before that, the only places where people could gamble were illegal ones run by mobsters who wanted to raise money for their other rackets. These mobsters provided the funds needed to establish some of the first casinos in Nevada and other cities. They also took sole or partial ownership of the businesses and often influenced outcomes at the tables by threats of violence to casino personnel. Today, casinos are located throughout the world. In the United States, Las Vegas and Atlantic City remain the largest casinos by revenue.