A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Many casinos offer a wide variety of games, including blackjack, poker, craps, roulette and baccarat. Some of them also have nightclubs and restaurants. These establishments may be built near or combined with hotels, resorts, and other tourist attractions.
Gambling in some form has been part of human culture for millennia. Evidence of gambling in China dates back to 2300 BC, while dice and playing cards appeared in Europe around 500 AD. Modern-day casinos have become popular entertainment venues, especially in Las Vegas and Monte Carlo.
Besides offering an array of games, some casinos have exotic locations, with a view of the sea or mountains. Others feature impressive architecture and decor, such as the Morpheus Hotel designed by architect Zaha Hadid. Guests can enjoy quality services and high-end amenities such as an outdoor pool, nightclubs, and restaurants.
Something about the environment of a casino—probably the presence of large amounts of money—seems to encourage people to cheat and steal. To combat this, most casinos employ security measures ranging from armed guards to surveillance cameras.
Until the early 1970s, when Nevada legalized casino gambling, most American casinos were located on riverboats and in states that did not have anti-gambling laws. Once organized crime figured out how lucrative casinos could be, they became fully involved, taking sole or partial ownership of them and attempting to control them through mob influence. As the mob was pushed out of the gambling business by government crackdowns and their own internal conflicts, real estate investors and hotel chains entered the market.
