A casino, also known as a gambling house, is a facility where various types of gambling can be enjoyed. Most often it is found as a part of larger hotels, resorts, cruise ships or other tourist attractions. Some casinos specialize in specific kinds of gambling, while others offer a more varied selection.

Casinos are primarily concerned with generating profit through gaming activities, and maximizing the number of people who gamble within their facilities. They use a variety of tricks to attract and keep gamblers, including free drinks, stage shows, and other forms of entertainment. They also use bright and sometimes gaudy floor and wall coverings that stimulate the senses, and they avoid using clocks, because they believe that people lose track of time when gambling. More than 15,000 miles of neon tubing lights the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

Gambling was illegal for much of the nation’s history, but that did not stop mobsters from running small private games. Once legalized, casino development accelerated. Real estate investors and hotel chains saw the opportunity, and with the help of federal crackdowns on mob influence, they developed large and reputable casino businesses.

Besides the traditional casino games such as blackjack and poker, some casinos feature regional favorites such as two-up (Australia), fan-tan in China, and pai gow in Vietnam. In 2005 the average casino gambler was a forty-six year old female from a household with above-average income, according to Roper Reports and GfK NOP. Higher-spending players are rewarded with comps, or complimentary goods and services such as meals, rooms, show tickets and limo service.