Casino, also known as a gaming hall or gambling hall, is a place where people can gamble and play games of chance. It is also an entertainment center with shows and restaurants. Casinos are most often located in cities that are famous for their gambling, such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City. In the United States, more than thirty states have some form of legalized casino gambling.
Despite their tainted reputation, casinos are booming businesses. In 2008, over two million Americans visited casinos, and most of them were not high-rollers. The average American casino patron was forty-six years old and had an income above the national median. This demographic is attractive to casinos, as they can afford the luxuries and free entertainment that are offered.
The modern casino industry is dominated by large hotel and gaming companies that have bought out the mob. The casinos are run by highly paid executives who are skilled at marketing, customer service and managing finances. In addition, casinos are heavily regulated by state and federal laws, and the threat of losing their gaming licenses at the slightest hint of mafia involvement keeps most organized crime groups away.
Each casino game has a built in mathematical advantage for the house, which can be small but adds up over millions of bets. The house edge, which is the percentage of money the casino makes on each bet, is higher in games with a skill element such as blackjack, but lower for games like poker where the player competes against other players rather than the casino.