Casino, also known as a gaming establishment, is a place where people can engage in gambling activities. Casinos generally offer a variety of gambling games, such as poker, blackjack, and roulette. They also serve a variety of beverages and food. Many casinos also have live entertainment such as musical performances or comedy shows.

Casinos make money by charging patrons for various services and by establishing built in advantages for themselves in each game, which they refer to as the house edge. These advantages are usually quite small – lower than two percent – but add up over millions of bets. They allow the casino to generate enough revenue to fund glitzy attractions like hotel towers, fountains, and replicas of famous monuments.

To encourage gamblers to spend more money, casinos provide a variety of perks and rewards. For example, in the 1970s Las Vegas casinos were famous for their discounted travel packages and cheap buffets. These perks, which are called comps, help attract and keep gamblers. They are especially important in attracting high rollers, who can bring in more revenue than other gamblers. Casinos are also known for their elaborate surveillance systems that use cameras to watch every table, window, and doorway. They can be adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons by security workers in a separate room filled with banks of security monitors.

While casino profits are substantial, critics argue that they are not a good economic investment for communities. They contend that the loss of productivity from problem gambling more than offsets any income generated by casinos.