Casino is a place where people can gamble on various games of chance. It usually includes a gaming floor with a variety of gambling tables and slot machines and can also include a theater for stage shows and dining venues. Despite the fancy trappings that casinos use to draw in patrons, they would not exist without the games of chance. Popular games like slots, blackjack, craps, roulette and baccarat contribute to the billions of dollars in profits that casinos rake in every year.

Modern casinos are renowned for their elaborate surveillance systems. They employ cameras throughout the facility that are monitored by security workers in a room filled with banks of monitors. The surveillance system allows security personnel to watch the activities of every patron in the casino at any given time and can be adjusted to focus on suspicious behavior or a specific table.

The first casinos probably developed out of primitive protodice and carved six-sided dice that were found in ancient archaeological sites [Source: Schwartz]. Gambling is believed to have become legal in Nevada in 1931, but it took several decades before states outside of Nevada approved the industry. Today, it’s estimated that about 51 million Americans (a quarter of all adults over 21) visited a casino in 2002.

A large percentage of this money was spent on gambling, but there are other reasons to visit a casino, such as shopping and restaurants. Even if you don’t gamble, a casino can still be an exciting destination with its high-tech surveillance systems and elaborate lighting and sound systems that give it the look of an indoor amusement park for adults.