What Is a Casino?
A casino (or gambling house) is an establishment for certain types of gambling. Casinos are usually combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and other entertainment venues. Many countries legalize casinos because they generate large amounts of revenue. The most famous casinos in the world are located in Las Vegas, Nevada and Macau, China. Other major casino cities include Estoril, Portugal; Corfu, Greece; and Baden-Baden and Divonne-les-Bains, France.
Casinos are carefully designed to influence visitor behavior. One of the most influential designers, Roger Thomas, who once had a gambling addiction, focuses on making visitors feel at home. His design style is called “playground design.” It uses high ceilings and beautiful decor to create intimate spaces that are easy for people to navigate. It also incorporates a labyrinth-like layout of slot machines that encourage players to keep playing, even if they are losing money.
Other casinos use technology to monitor games. Some have a system that electronically tracks betting chips minute-by-minute to detect any statistical deviations. Others have catwalks in the ceiling above the gambling floor, allowing surveillance personnel to look down, through one way glass, on gamblers’ actions at tables and slot machines.
While Hollywood movies make casinos seem glamorous, they do not always portray the reality of gambling. For example, some films portray a gambling addict in a trance, spending hours at a slot machine without feeling any pain or pleasure. In fact, the majority of casino patrons do not fall into this category. In addition, casinos do not necessarily stimulate local economies. Casino proponents frequently point to a drop in the local unemployment rate as evidence that casinos improve job opportunities, but this figure must be compared with the change in the statewide unemployment rate during the same period.
