A casino is a building or room where people can play a variety of gambling games. The term is most commonly associated with the gambling establishments in Las Vegas, Nevada but it also describes locations like Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Chicago. Often casinos add luxuries like restaurants, free drinks, and stage shows to attract gamblers. Despite these perks, a casino’s primary focus is still on gambling.

Something about the nature of gambling encourages cheating and stealing, either in collusion with other patrons or on their own. That’s why casinos devote a lot of time and money to security measures. Most obviously, there are cameras everywhere. There are also more subtle measures. Casino floor employees keep their eyes on every game, so they can spot blatant cheating or suspicious betting patterns. Casinos also employ a wide range of surveillance technology. Cameras mounted in the ceiling can monitor a room or even an entire strip of casinos at once, with the ability to zoom in on individual tables or players.

Casinos have been around for 150 years, but they really took off after World War II when they became popular as destination spots for vacationers. Many cities had their own casino to lure visitors from across the country and the world, with destinations like Reno, Nevada and Atlantic City becoming famous for gambling. Other casinos, like the elegant spa town of Baden-Baden in Germany, were also renowned for their beauty and class.