A casino is an establishment for gambling. Most casinos feature a variety of table games, slot machines and poker rooms as well as live entertainment, top-notch hotels and spas. Casinos are also found on cruise ships and in some states at racetracks, where they are known as racinos. The casino industry is extremely profitable, bringing in billions of dollars each year for the owners, investors, and Native American tribes that own and operate them.

While some casino games do require skill, such as card counting, a majority of them are pure chance. The mathematical expectancy of a casino’s games is determined by their rules and by the number of decks used. Casinos use the results of research performed by mathematicians and computer programmers, called gaming analysts or gaming mathematicians, to determine game odds and expected return to players.

Because of the high profit potential of some casino games, they are often concentrated on attracting high-stakes gamblers. These high rollers usually play in special rooms, separate from the main casino floor, and are offered extravagant inducements such as free spectacular entertainment, luxury suites, reduced-fare transportation and other amenities. In the twenty-first century, casinos are becoming increasingly choosy about who they allow to gamble and where. They tend to focus their investments on the so-called “high rollers,” or people who wager tens of thousands of dollars on a single visit. In order to maximize profits from this type of customer, they may offer a variety of incentives such as discounted food and beverage costs, limousine service, and even free room rentals.