A casino is a place where people gamble on various games of chance. Most casinos also offer other entertainment such as top-notch restaurants and hotels. This is why they are so popular with people from all over the world. In fact, many movies and TV shows have been filmed at casinos. The Bellagio in Las Vegas is perhaps the most famous of all casinos, but there are others that people know about as well.
There is something about gambling that seems to encourage cheating, stealing or scamming in order to win. This is why casinos spend a large amount of time, effort and money on security. Casinos are on the lookout for everything from someone counterfeiting casino chips to trying to pass a fake ID to getting into a casino by using a stolen credit card.
Security starts on the casino floor, where casino employees keep their eyes on the patrons and the games to make sure that they are doing what they should be doing. Dealers watch the tables carefully, looking for blatant cheating such as palming, marking or switching cards and dice. Pit bosses and table managers have a broader view, watching for betting patterns that might indicate cheating at the tables. Elaborate surveillance systems provide a high-tech eye-in-the-sky view of every table, window and doorway in the casino.
There are even specialized systems that allow casinos to track every single chip on the casino floor. This allows casinos to make sure that everyone is playing fair, and they can even use the results of these systems to comp certain players with free rooms, food or merchandise. This is one way that casinos try to keep their customers happy and coming back.