A casino is a place where gambling games are played and where people can bet on these games. The modern casino offers a wide variety of gambling activities, including slots, roulette, poker and blackjack. Casinos also feature restaurants and stage shows. Many casinos have been built on exotic locations, such as Venice’s Grand Canal.
While gambling has long predated recorded history (primitive protodice made of carved knuckle bones and smuggled six-sided dice have been found in archaeological digs), the casino as a public venue where a variety of gambling activities are housed under one roof did not develop until the 16th century. That era saw a gambling craze sweep Europe, and Italian nobles often hosted private parties at places called ridotti. Although these were technically illegal, the authorities rarely bothered ridotti because they were attended by aristocrats and wealthy families.
Today, many casino games do not require any skill, such as slots, where players insert money, pull a handle or push a button and wait for varying bands of colored shapes to roll on rotating reels (actual physical reels or video representations). The machine pays out a predetermined amount if the right pattern appears. Casinos earn a large percentage of their income from slots.
During the 1990s, casinos dramatically increased their use of technology to monitor and control gaming. For example, betting chips have been designed with built-in microcircuitry that interacts with electronic systems to allow the casinos to monitor exact amounts wagered minute-by-minute and warn them of any anomaly; roulette wheels are electronically monitored to discover any statistical deviation from their expected results. Casinos employ mathematicians and computer programmers specializing in game analysis to conduct this monitoring. The casinos also have in-house teams that provide security services. In addition, casinos offer comps, free or reduced-fare transportation and hotel rooms, tickets to shows and meals, and other incentives to big spenders.