A casino is a place where people can gamble by playing games of chance. The modern casino adds other luxuries, such as restaurants, free drinks and stage shows, to attract people to gambling activities. But there have been many less extravagant places that housed gambling activities and were still called casinos.

Casinos make money by giving patrons free things, such as food and drink, or by charging them a commission, known as the rake, on their bets. They also profit from the fact that most casino games have built-in advantages for the house, and these are mathematically determined. This advantage, which can be as small as two percent, earns the casino millions of dollars over time.

The elegant spa town of Baden-Baden was a playground for European royalty and the aristocracy 150 years ago, but nowadays its casino draws visitors from around the world. Its spacious rooms are adorned with richly colored and sometimes gaudy floor and wall coverings, which have been scientifically proven to help players lose track of time and concentrate more fully on the game at hand.

In the modern casino, security is usually divided between a physical force and a specialized department that operates a closed circuit television system that constantly monitors the gambling area. The casino also employs a variety of rules and regulations to discourage criminal activity, such as requiring players to keep their cards visible at all times. But something about gambling (probably the presence of large sums of money) seems to encourage some people to try to cheat, steal or scam their way into a jackpot. This is the reason why casinos spend a lot of time and effort on security.