A casino is a place where people can play a variety of gambling games. These establishments often offer food, drinks, and stage shows to attract patrons. They make money by charging a fee, or house edge, to players. This advantage can be as low as two percent for some games, but it adds up over the millions of bets placed by patrons. In addition to house edges, casinos can earn money from other sources, such as tips or a percentage of the winnings of some players.

In addition to paying out winning bets, casinos must provide security for their patrons. Many casinos have elaborate surveillance systems, such as cameras that monitor every table, window, and doorway at once. These systems are usually controlled by a room filled with banks of screens, so security workers can watch any suspicious activity.

Casinos must also guard against the occasional cheating or stealing by patrons and employees. This can be as subtle as touching a neighbor’s hand while playing poker or as flagrant as marking and switching dice. The vast amounts of money involved in casino operations make cheating and stealing extremely lucrative, so most casinos employ several measures to prevent it.

The word casino comes from the Italian cazino, diminutive of casa (house) and probably related to cassa (cottage). Gambling in some form has been found in nearly every culture around the world. In modern times, casinos have been created to capitalize on this worldwide fascination with chance.