A casino is a place where people gamble by playing games of chance. It can be as simple as a card table or as elaborate as a Las Vegas-style facility with restaurants, free drinks and stage shows. While some casinos do offer skill-based games, such as blackjack and video poker, the vast majority of games are purely luck-based. There is nothing inherently wrong with gambling, but it has some very real negative side effects. These include increased risk of addiction, loss of family and friends, and loss of property value in surrounding neighborhoods.
Casinos are highly regulated, and there are a number of controls that help prevent theft. One is that the casino buys chips only from reputable suppliers who maintain tight control over their inventories. When the chips arrive at the casino, they are scanned and matched against shipping documents to ensure that none were stolen in transit. Once the chips are used up or worn out, they are sent to a specialist chip destruction firm for grinding up and disposal.
Despite all these measures, some casino employees and patrons still try to steal or cheat. In addition to a security team, most casinos have electronic surveillance systems that monitor all areas of the facility at all times. If a suspicious activity is detected, a Casino Suspicious Activity Report may be filed.
Many casinos focus on customer service and offer perks to encourage patrons to spend more money. These complimentary items, called comps, are often given to big bettors or those who play long hours at the slot machines. Comps can range from free food and beverages to free hotel rooms and limo service. Casinos also try to keep patrons distracted by using brightly colored decor and avoiding the use of clocks on their walls, as they want patrons to lose track of time.
