A casino is a gambling establishment, offering various types of gambling. Most casinos offer table games like blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat, and poker. They may also offer video poker machines and slot machines. In some countries, casinos are combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and/or cruise ships.
Casinos have a high turnover rate of customers, so they must attract new visitors and retain existing ones to stay profitable. This is achieved through a combination of promotions and incentives. Large bettors are rewarded with free spectacular entertainment, luxury living quarters, and reduced-fare transportation. Smaller bettors are offered drinks, food, and cigarettes. In addition, many casinos feature a wide variety of non-gambling attractions to appeal to all tastes.
While casinos are primarily designed around noise and excitement, they also employ sophisticated security measures. All employees are heavily supervised by higher-level managers, and many are specially trained to spot cheating. Casinos also use special chips with built-in microcircuitry to monitor bets minute by minute and instantly detect any anomalies; and roulette wheels are electronically monitored to discover quickly any statistical deviations from their expected results.
The first modern casinos opened in the mid-19th century, in cities such as Monte-Carlo (built in 1863). In European countries, they became a popular place to entertain upper class guests, including royalty and members of the aristocracy. The elegant spa town of Baden-Baden became a casino playground for European royalty 150 years ago and is still considered one of the most extravagantly outfitted casinos in the world.