A casino is a place where people can gamble, often on games of chance. It also provides complimentary drinks and snacks while people play. Casinos are operated by companies that invest capital and generate revenue from bets and wagers placed by patrons. In addition, casinos manage their operations to guarantee profits by limiting losses and maximizing winnings. They often offer big bettors extravagant inducements in the form of free spectacular entertainment, transportation and elegant living quarters.
Casinos require a broad workforce to manage many facets of the business. At the top of the employee hierarchy is a casino manager who oversees and makes final decisions. Below the manager are department managers, such as the floor, table and slot managers. Then there are frontline employees who interact directly with patrons, such as dealers, pit bosses and casino attendants. Finally, there are gaming mathematicians and programmers who perform analysis on the house edge and variance of casino games.
In addition to management and frontline employees, casinos employ a variety of security staff to monitor the gaming floor for cheating or other suspicious behavior. Most casinos use a high-tech “eye in the sky” surveillance system that allows security workers to keep tabs on every table, window and doorway from a control room filled with banks of security monitors. Casinos also manage the atmosphere to encourage gambling by adjusting lighting, music and other factors to create a particular mood. In the past, less elaborate venues that housed gambling activities could be called casinos as well.
