Casino
A
casino is a facility that accommodates certain types of
gambling activities. Casinos are often placed near or combined with hotels,
restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships and other vacation attractions. Some casinos are known for hosting live entertainment events, such as concerts and sporting events, especially
boxing.
The term originally meant a small
villa,
summerhouse or
pavilion built for pleasure, usually on the grounds of a larger
Italian villa or
palazzo. There are examples of such casinos at
Villa Giulia and
Villa Farnese. During the
19th century, the term casino came to include other more public buildings where pleasurable activities, including gambling and sports, took place. An example of this type of building is the
Newport Casino. In modern Italian, this term designates a
bordello (also called "casa chiusa", literally "closed house"), while the gambling house is spelled
casinò with an accent.
In most jurisdictions, gambling is limited to persons over the
age of majority (21 years of age in most of the
United States and 18 to 20 in most other countries where casinos are permitted). Customers may gamble by playing
slot machines or other games of chance (e.g.,
craps,
roulette,
baccarat) and some skill (eg.,
blackjack,
poker) [for more see
casino games]. Game rules usually have mathematically-determined odds that ensure the house retains an advantage over the players. This advantage is called the
edge.
Payout is the percentage given to players. In games such as poker, the house takes a commission (a "rake") on bets players make against each other.
Our money refers to the situation where a winning player is placing bets with money that has been won from the casino.
Traditionally, casinos have had a major concentration on security. Large amounts of
currency move through a casino, tempting people to cheat the system. Security today consists of cameras located throughout the property operated by highly trained individuals who attempt to locate cheating and stealing by both players and employees.
*
Casino Night*
List of casinos*
Online casino*
American Gaming Association*
Global Gaming Expo*
Gaming Control Boards
*
Gaming law*
Indian gaming*
Dmoz Directory worldwide casino listings*
Yahoo Directory: Casino and gaming job and employment resources*
Casino City worldwide casino directory
