A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. It can be combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and/or cruise ships. Some casinos specialize in a particular type of game, such as poker, blackjack, and baccarat. They may also offer a variety of other games, such as slot machines and roulette. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as concerts and stand-up comedy.

A number of different types of casino games are played, but table games dominate. These games include baccarat, where the objective is to bet on the hand closest to nine; craps, where you place bets against the house; and roulette, where players push buttons on a wheel to spin it and then bet on the outcome of each turn. These games are played around tables, which are designed specifically for the game and overseen by a croupier.

Casinos use a lot of technology to supervise their games and protect their profits. For example, they often monitor each bet placed in a machine minute-by-minute and instantly warn the croupier of any statistical deviations. They use cameras to watch the game play and have catwalks above the floor where surveillance personnel can look down, through one-way glass, on the players. They also enforce security through rules and behavior. Something about the presence of large amounts of money seems to encourage cheating and theft, so casinos invest a great deal in security measures. Some of these are sophisticated: betting chips have built-in microcircuitry that interacts with electronic systems to ensure they are being placed correctly; and roulette wheels are monitored electronically, rather than mechanically, to detect any anomaly.