A casino is a gambling establishment that features various games of chance and sometimes skill. Some casinos are specialized in specific games such as blackjack, craps or video poker while others offer an array of table and slot machines. Casinos are regulated and audited by government agencies to ensure fair play.
Some casinos have a reputation for being glamorous or lavish, but they are all places where gambling is the primary activity. The most famous casinos are located in Las Vegas, but they are also found in other cities with significant tourism industries such as Monte Carlo, Monaco; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Reno, Nevada. There are also casinos on some American Indian reservations, where state antigambling laws do not apply.
Many people believe that something about the environment of casinos encourages cheating and theft. Certainly the high stakes and large sums of money involved in most gambling activities make it tempting for some players to try to game the system or find some other way to gain an advantage over their opponents. That is why most casinos spend a considerable amount of time, effort and money on security.
In addition to a physical security force, many casinos have specialized surveillance departments that monitor everything that happens on the casino floor through closed circuit television. These cameras, which are often referred to as the eyes in the sky, can be adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons by security workers inside a room filled with banks of security monitors.
