A casino is a building or room in which gambling activities take place. Modern casinos add many luxurious extras to attract customers, such as restaurants, free drinks and stage shows, but gambling remains the central activity and source of profits. A casino can also be called a gambling hall, gaming house or kasino. Some cities are known primarily for their casinos, such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Others have casinos tucked away in unexpected locations, such as the elegant spa town of Baden-Baden, which was once a playground for European royalty and aristocracy.
Casinos earn a significant portion of their revenue from the sale of slot machines, which have no element of skill. Players insert cash or paper tickets with barcodes into the machines and hope that a particular pattern will appear. The machines pay out a predetermined amount depending on the symbols that line up; winnings are tracked by electronic chips. Casinos are also equipped with cameras that allow security workers to monitor the casino floor from a control room.
In addition to slot machines, casinos feature a variety of table games and video poker. The most popular casino game is blackjack, which is played against the dealer and offers a chance to win big by following certain rules. Other table games include baccarat, roulette and craps. Some casinos specialize in a single game, such as sic bo, which is found in many Asian casinos and spread to European and American casinos during the 1990s.