A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Many casinos are combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops and other tourist attractions. Other casinos may be standalone facilities. The precise origins of gambling are unknown, but it is believed that games of chance have been enjoyed in some form throughout history. Today, casinos are largely entertainment centers, with the vast majority of their profits coming from gambling. They feature elaborate themes, lighted fountains, musical shows and other forms of entertainment, but they would not exist without the billions of dollars in profit that gambling machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and keno generate every year.

Because of the large amount of money handled within a casino, both patrons and staff members may be tempted to cheat or steal. To counter this, most casinos employ several security measures. These include security cameras, which are located throughout the casino and can be monitored by surveillance personnel in a separate room. Additionally, most slot machines are controlled by computers that randomly determine payouts. Consequently, even though it is possible for someone to program a computer to cheat, it is very difficult to do so in a casino.

Some casinos, such as the elegant spa town of Baden-Baden in Germany’s Black Forest region, focus on aesthetics and luxury to attract wealthy patrons. Others have high-tech surveillance systems that give a high-tech eye-in-the-sky view of the entire casino, allowing security workers to adjust their attention to suspicious patrons.