The casino, a massive and beautiful facility that is often the centerpiece of an island resort or a city street, is a place where people gamble on games of chance. It is also a social gathering place, where people drink alcohol and interact with each other. Many casinos provide restaurants, bars, non-gambling game rooms, hotels and other luxuries to draw in players and keep them there. Casino gambling generates billions of dollars a year for the owners, corporations and investors who run them, as well as for Native American tribes and state and local governments that tax it.

Casinos vary in size and offerings, but the typical casino offers a wide variety of games, from slots to poker and everything in between. Slot machines are the most popular attraction, accounting for more than half of all casino profits. Table games, such as blackjack, roulette and baccarat, are also big draws. A small number of casinos offer traditional Far Eastern games, such as sic bo (which spread to several European and American casinos in the 1990s) and fan-tan.

Security in a casino is a major concern, since large amounts of money are handled within the buildings. In addition to the obvious cameras that monitor patrons, gaming floor employees are highly trained in spotting cheating and stealing. They pay close attention to the idiosyncrasies of each game and look for patterns in behavior that indicate foul play. Despite these measures, some people still manage to cheat or steal, either in collusion with others or alone.