A casino is a place where people can gamble. Casinos are also known as gaming houses and are a common sight in cities like Las Vegas. They may be standalone buildings or attached to hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and cruise ships. In the United States, there are over 1,000 casinos. Many of them are owned by large corporations, while some are operated by government-owned businesses. The casino industry has become a major source of revenue for many states.
Because of the large amounts of money that are handled within a casino, both patrons and staff may be tempted to cheat or steal, either in collusion with each other or independently. To prevent this, most casinos have security measures in place. These include a physical security force and a specialized surveillance department. The latter is usually composed of people who can watch through one-way glass from catwalks above the tables and slot machines.
Some casinos offer traditional Far Eastern games, such as sic bo and fan-tan. These games are played with chips that represent real currency, which is collected and counted by the game operators. Other popular casino games include roulette and blackjack, both of which are commonly found in North America and Europe. In addition to these games, some casinos feature a wide variety of table and card games from around the world. In the early 19th century, some houses featured games such as loo, all fours, euchre, and casino.