Casino, also known as a gambling house or a gaming establishment, is a place where people gamble by playing games of chance. Most casinos offer a wide variety of gambling games, such as blackjack, poker, craps, roulette, and video slots. Some casinos also have live entertainment like comedy shows and concerts. Most casinos are located in cities or resorts and are often combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and other tourist attractions.

Gambling has long been a part of human culture. Some of the earliest records of gambling date back to ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Rome. In modern times, casinos have become a major source of revenue in many states and countries around the world. Casinos are usually governed by a combination of state and local laws, but many are privately owned.

In the United States, some of the most famous casinos are in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. These casinos are massive megacasinos with beautiful decor and a mindblowing number of gambling games. They can even feature hotels, restaurants, non-gambling game rooms, bars, swimming pools, and spas.

Despite the fact that most gamblers lose money, casinos make large profits. These huge profits are largely due to the built-in advantage of most games that give the house a virtual guarantee of gross profit. This advantage is called the house edge. In addition to this built-in advantage, most casinos employ a number of other safeguards against cheating and other irregularities. For example, slot machines are routinely monitored electronically so that any statistical deviation sticks out like a sore thumb. In addition, dealers are heavily trained to spot blatant palming and marking of cards or dice.