A casino is a place for certain types of gambling. It is also a place where people gather to watch and gamble on sporting events. It can be a large building or a room within a hotel or resort, and it is often incorporated with restaurants, bars, and other tourist attractions. The word casino may also refer to a particular game, a group of games, or a business that operates a gaming establishment.
A modern casino relies on technology to keep track of money in circulation and the betting patterns of players. For example, chips with built-in microcircuitry are used for table games in many casinos to allow the house to monitor and oversee exactly how much is wagered minute by minute; roulette wheels are electronically monitored regularly to detect any statistical deviations from the expected results.
Some casinos specialize in specific games, such as baccarat (a standard feature in most European continental casinos), blackjack, and trente et quarante in France. Other casinos are known for poker, and still others for their sports betting facilities. Some casinos are very large, and some have multiple floors or even multiple buildings.
Because of the large amounts of money involved, casinos are sometimes a target for cheating and theft, either by patrons in collusion with each other or by casino employees on their own. For this reason, most casinos have strict security measures in place to prevent these activities. These examples are selected automatically from various online sources and may not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors.