A casino is a gambling establishment that offers a variety of gambling games. Some casinos are combined with hotels, restaurants, and retail shopping while others stand alone. A casino may also offer stage shows, dramatic scenery, and other attractions to draw in patrons.
Most casinos have security measures in place. Typical measures include a physical security force that patrols the premises and a specialized surveillance department. The specialized surveillance department often uses cameras around the casino and in the ceiling that can be viewed from a separate room equipped with banks of monitors. These cameras are commonly known as the eye in the sky.
Casinos try to keep their gamblers happy by offering free food and drinks while they play. They usually use chips instead of real money so that players do not feel concerned about losing large amounts of money. Casinos may even offer luxury inducements to big bettors in the form of free spectacular entertainment, luxurious transportation and elegant living quarters.
Casinos also make sure that their patrons cannot cheat or steal, either in collusion with other patrons or independently. They do this by carefully watching all actions on the gaming floor. Dealers, pit bosses and managers watch the table games and can easily spot blatant cheating like palming, marking or switching cards and dice. Security personnel can watch the slot machines in a separate room filled with banks of security monitors. They can adjust the cameras to focus on suspicious patrons.