A casino is a gambling establishment where patrons can place bets on games of chance or skill. Often, casinos offer food and drinks as well as entertainment like live music and comedy acts.

Gambling almost certainly predates written history, with primitive protodice (cut knuckle bones) and carved six-sided dice found in the oldest archaeological sites. But the casino as a place where patrons can find a variety of ways to gamble under one roof did not develop until the 16th century, when a gambling craze swept Europe. Italian aristocrats gathered in private clubs known as ridotti to play dice, cards and other games of chance. Because these places were technically illegal, they were usually free from the attention of local authorities.

Casinos typically employ sophisticated security measures to protect their patrons and their property. Elaborate surveillance systems give staff a high-tech eye-in-the-sky that can monitor every table, window and doorway at any time. Security workers in a separate room filled with banks of computer monitors can easily adjust the cameras to focus on suspicious activities.

In addition to security, casino staff use a variety of simple techniques to detect cheating and other violations. For example, the way dealers shuffle and deal cards, the expected reactions of players to certain events and the locations of betting spots on the tables follow familiar patterns. Likewise, a casino’s mathematical expectancy of winning gives it virtually no chance of losing money on any one game and makes it very difficult for anyone to win more than the casino can afford to pay.