A Casino (or Gambling House) is an establishment where gambling for real money is facilitated. Most casinos feature a large variety of gaming tables, but some also offer non-gambling entertainment like hotels, restaurants, bars and other amenities. In some countries, casinos are combined with vacation resorts or other tourist attractions. The origins of casinos are not known for sure, but gambling in some form or another has been around as long as humans have. The first recorded use of the word dates to ancient times, when primitive proto-dice such as cut knuckle bones or carved six-sided ones were used for wagering purposes [Source: Schwartz]. The modern concept of casinos was developed in Europe during the 16th century, and by the end of that decade and into the next, they became popular as places where people could find a wide variety of ways to gamble under one roof.

Because of the high volumes of cash that are handled within a casino, both staff and patrons may be tempted to cheat and steal. To counter these problems, casinos employ a range of security measures. For example, casino staff look out for blatantly obvious cheating such as palming cards or marking or switching dice, and table managers monitor the betting patterns on roulette wheels and other games to detect any suspicious activity. In addition to these visible methods of control, some casinos use technology for general security: betting chips have microcircuitry that can be tracked, and roulette wheels are electronically monitored to discover any statistical deviations from expected results.