A casino is an establishment for gambling. Traditionally, casinos have been places where people go to gamble and play games of chance, but in the modern world they are often combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops and entertainment facilities. In the United States, there are many popular cities for gambling including Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Chicago.

Every casino game has a built in advantage for the house, which makes it impossible for a patron to win every bet. This advantage is known as the “house edge” or the “vig.” The vig gives the casino a virtual assurance of gross profit, and is the primary source of revenue for many casinos.

To offset this advantage, casinos offer a variety of comps to their players. These perks are free or reduced-cost goods and services such as hotel rooms, dinners, show tickets and limo service. They are designed to reward the most frequent and high-spending customers. A player’s “comp rating” is determined by the amount of money he or she spends at a casino.

Besides table games, some casinos offer traditional Far Eastern games such as sic bo (which became popular in European and American casinos during the 1980s), fan-tan and pai-gow. Depending on the location, casinos may also offer two-up and other games of local interest. American Indian reservations are a major source of gambling casinos, as they are usually exempt from state antigambling laws.