A casino, also known as a gaming establishment or a gambling hall, is a place where people can play various games of chance for money. Most casinos add a variety of luxuries to their facilities to help attract patrons, such as restaurants, free drinks and stage shows. A casino can also offer comps to its players, which are items or services given out for free or at a reduced cost. Most of the games played at a casino have mathematically determined odds, which give the house an advantage over the player. This edge is known as the house edge.
Many casinos have elaborate surveillance systems that are designed to detect cheating or other violations of casino rules. These can include video cameras in the ceiling that watch every table, doorway and window; a casino employee can adjust them to zoom in on suspicious patrons. Another system consists of banks of security monitors that display every occurrence of a game, allowing security personnel to spot suspicious patterns.
Casinos are found all over the world. In the United States, they are most prominent in Nevada and New Jersey, but they can also be found on American Indian reservations, where state antigambling laws do not apply. The casino industry is a major source of revenue for the state of Nevada, and some cities are defined by their casinos, such as Las Vegas. There are also casinos in cruise ships, horse racing tracks (in the form of racinos) and even at some truck stops.