A casino is an establishment that offers gambling-related entertainment and the opportunity to win money. It is usually located in a large building that includes restaurants, bars, and gaming rooms. Some casinos are combined with hotels, retail shopping, and even cruise ships.
The large amounts of currency handled in a casino make both patrons and staff susceptible to cheating and theft. For this reason, casinos invest a significant amount of time and money in security. Several different types of security measures are used. For example, each table game has a pit boss who watches over the table, making sure that employees are not switching cards or dice, and that patrons are not placing bets on the same numbers at the same time. Video cameras are also used to monitor all casino activity.
Casinos make money by charging a “vigorish” or “rake” on each bet placed on a game. The amount of the vigorish can vary from game to game, but in general it is less than two percent of the total bet. This small profit, earned from millions of bets, gives a casino enough revenue to support its expensive buildings, fountains, and replicas of famous landmarks.
In 2005, according to research conducted by Roper Reports GfK NOP and TNS, the average casino gambler was a forty-six-year-old woman from a household with above-average income. Other than age, most demographic characteristics of casino gamblers were consistent with those of the general American population.