Casino is a popular gambling establishment that offers a wide variety of games to its patrons. These games range from traditional table and card games to electronic gambling machines. Many casinos also offer live entertainment and exotic foods to enhance the gaming experience. In addition to this, the casino offers excellent customer support and a generous welcome bonus for new players.

Gambling probably predates recorded history, with primitive protodice and carved six-sided dice found in some of the oldest archaeological sites. However, the modern casino as a place where patrons can find a variety of gambling opportunities under one roof did not appear until the 16th century, when a gambling craze swept Europe and Italian aristocrats held private parties in places called ridotti.

Every game offered by a casino has a built-in advantage, known as the house edge, which ensures that the casino will make a profit. Because of this, the casino must accept bets within a certain limit or risk losing money. To compensate for the house edge, casinos offer extravagant inducements to big bettors, such as free spectacular entertainment and luxury living quarters.

Modern casinos employ a combination of physical security and specialized surveillance departments to protect the assets and patrons of the facility. The physical security force patrols the casino and responds to calls for assistance and reports of suspicious or definite criminal activity. The specialized surveillance department operates the casino’s closed circuit television system, commonly known as the eye in the sky. Cameras in the ceiling watch every table, change window and doorway, and can be adjusted to focus on a suspicious patron by a surveillance worker in a separate room filled with banks of security monitors.