A casino, or gambling house, is a place where people can gamble and play games of chance. Its modern image is based on elaborate themes and lavish attractions like lighted fountains, music and stage shows. But the main attraction is still the gambling. It’s what brings in the billions of dollars that casinos earn every year.
The casinos compete not just with one another, but also with non-gambling resorts, on-line gaming, private gambling and an illegal business that is much larger than the legal casino industry. It’s a highly competitive business where many lose money, even a few go bankrupt. But the ones that make it do so on a large scale, generating millions of visitors each year.
Gambling houses attract a diverse group of people. The average player is a forty-six-year-old female from an upper middle class household. Her husband is a professional and her children are grown. Her household income is above average, and she has more free time and vacation funds to gamble than the average person.
Casinos offer a variety of perks to encourage people to gamble and reward those who do so. Some of the most popular are food and drinks, free rooms and discounted travel packages. The casinos also enforce security by monitoring their patrons, catching any cheating or other inappropriate behavior. They also employ a number of staff, including pit bosses, blackjack dealers and table managers, who keep an eye on players to spot suspicious betting patterns that may indicate cheating.
