A casino is a building where people can gamble and play games of chance. It’s also where you can see a show, enjoy a nice dinner or grab some drinks. You can find casinos all over the world, from Las Vegas to South Africa.

Although musical shows, lighted fountains and shopping centers help draw in the crowds, casinos would not exist without the millions of dollars in profits raked in from games of chance like slot machines, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker and craps. These games of chance, which have been around for thousands of years, are responsible for billions in annual profits for U.S. casinos.

Every game a casino offers has a built in mathematical advantage for the casino, but that advantage can be small (less than two percent). That edge adds up over time to provide the billions of dollars in profits casinos are known for.

Most casinos offer a wide variety of gambling options, but some are more specialized than others. Asian casinos, for instance, tend to focus on traditional Far Eastern games like sic bo and fan-tan. European and American casinos usually have a mix of standard casino games such as blackjack, baccarat, poker, roulette and craps, along with less popular games like pai gow poker and two-up.

A casino’s security starts on the gaming floor, where employees keep an eye out for blatant cheating by patrons. Dealers are trained to spot a number of common tricks, including palming cards or marking dice, and the way players at table games react to each other can indicate if they’re trying to cheat. Security personnel also watch over patrons from a higher vantage point, noting betting patterns that might indicate cheating.