A casino is a place where champagne glasses clink and tourists and locals mingle, resulting in an incredible buzz that’s hard to find anywhere else. Gambling is as much about socializing as it is trying your hand at luck, and casinos are great for this because they offer a variety of different games that can be played.

But beneath the flashing lights and free cocktails, casinos are built on a bedrock of mathematics designed to slowly bleed patrons of their money. For years mathematically inclined minds have tried to turn the tables, using their understanding of probability and game theory to take advantage of a system that is, at its core, rigged.

Fortunately, most of these attempts are futile because, while a casino might give you the illusion of chance, the house always wins. That’s why casinos invest a huge amount of time, effort and money on security: They want to prevent cheating, fraud and other crimes that would deprive them of their precious cash. To that end, elaborate surveillance systems provide a high-tech eye-in-the-sky, and casino employees can monitor every table, switch window and doorway.

Casinos also need to consider their audience’s behavior, and the fact that some people spend 80% of their casino dollars on non-gaming services such as food, entertainment and even luxury hotels and spas. This is why it’s important for casino marketers to consider strategies that focus on events and group business, as well as online components to floor games.