Casino – The Dark Side of Las Vegas

The word “casino” has many different definitions, but it basically refers to any place where people can gamble and play games of chance. Although many casinos add other luxuries, such as free drinks, stage shows and elaborate hotels, they still make money by gambling on the fact that most of their casino games have a built in advantage for the house. This edge, which is typically lower than two percent, is how casinos generate the billions of dollars in profits that they rake in each year.

The dark side of casinos is well documented in Casino, a riveting drama that features a dazzling cast, including Robert De Niro as mafia boss Don Rickles and Sharon Stone as his girlfriend Ginger McKenna. But the movie’s real strength lies in its ability to reveal the underlying corruption and treachery that lurk beneath Las Vegas’ glitzy surface.

In order to ensure that players’ money is secure, casinos invest huge amounts of time and money in security. Elaborate surveillance systems provide a high-tech eye-in-the-sky that watches every table, window and doorway in the entire building. These cameras are monitored by security workers in a room filled with banks of monitors, who can adjust their focus to single out suspicious patrons.

Casinos also offer comps to their best players, giving them free hotel rooms, meals, tickets to shows and even limo service and airline tickets. This reward system helps to keep good players coming back and encourages them to try new games that they might not have played before.