Casino is a fascinating look at human greed and corruption. It shows how people who make reasoned financial decisions on a day-to-day basis can still lose huge amounts of money based on the roll of a dice, the flip of a card or the spin of a slot machine. It also explains how casinos get us to spend so much of our hard-earned money by creating an intoxicating environment that encourages risk-taking and socializing. De Niro and Sharon Stone are both great as the gamblers Ginger McKenna and Santoro, respectively, but it’s Joe Pesci who steals the show as the casino owner Frank Anselmo.

The casino experience is designed to be a sensory overload with flashing lights, the clinking of champagne glasses and the palpable energy that comes from the fact that everyone around you is trying to win money. It’s a place where the odds are always against you, but there is no telling how lucky you might be if you just happen to hit that jackpot.

It’s important to note that gambling at a casino doesn’t actually involve real money. Instead, patrons exchange cash for colored chips that represent actual currency and use these to place bets. This helps to disassociate the gambling from the actual spending of money and also makes it easier to rationalize losses.

As the casino industry adapts to reach millennial and Gen Z audiences, strategies will include elevated entertainment, food and non-gaming options to help them spend less time at the tables and more on other activities. Using Cvent’s Competitive Ads can help casinos achieve these goals by getting them major exposure to planners who are searching for groups in their markets.