A Casino is an entertainment venue that offers games of chance and, in some cases, skill. Slot machines, poker, baccarat, craps and roulette are some of the casino games that generate billions in profits for their owners every year. Casinos have been built as elaborate resorts and theme parks, and they have also been established on barges and in riverboats, at racetracks, and in truck stops and bars. The largest casino market in the United States is centered in Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Chicago. In addition, there are a number of Native American casinos and state-licensed racinos (rah-KOH-tuhs) that offer gambling.
Most casino games have a mathematically determined advantage for the house, which is known as the house edge. This advantage can be quite small, as low as two percent, but it is enough to earn the casino billions of dollars each year. Casinos also make money from the vig or rake, a percentage of the amount gamblers wager that is charged to the player.
Something about the presence of large sums of money within a casino encourages people to cheat and steal, either in collusion or independently. As a result, casinos spend enormous amounts of money on security measures. Casinos are usually decorated in bright, cheery colors such as red. They often have no clocks on the walls, because they are concerned that a person might lose track of time and start betting on the wrong numbers.