A casino is a gambling establishment that offers customers games of chance and, in some cases, skill. Casinos are found in a variety of settings and serve as an entertainment destination for thousands of visitors from around the world. The majority of casino revenue comes from games that involve a built in house advantage, such as roulette, craps, blackjack and slot machines. The house edge can be very low, as little as one percent or less, depending on the rules of the game. Other significant sources of income for casinos are commissions paid to players in poker and other table games.
Gambling has been a part of human culture for millennia, with the first recorded examples of games of chance dating back to 2300 BC. The earliest games were simple dice, followed by the use of playing cards and eventually the more complex board games like baccarat. Modern casinos are much more sophisticated than their ancestors, offering many different games with various payout levels.
While casino attractions such as musical shows, fountains and shopping centers help draw customers in, casinos would not exist without games of chance. Slot machines, blackjack, craps, roulette and baccarat bring in billions of dollars in profits every year.
Despite their reliance on games of chance, casinos are not immune to criminal activity. Security in a casino is typically divided between a physical security force and a specialized surveillance department. The former patrols the facility and responds to calls for assistance or reports of suspicious or definite criminal activity. The latter operates the closed circuit television system that is known as the eye in the sky for casinos.