Casino is an epic drama about the rise of organized crime in Las Vegas. Martin Scorsese brilliantly captures the opulence, glamour and energy of this desert city in this dazzling movie. He also lays bare the dark side of gambling, the mob influence, and the way huge corporations have taken over Vegas.
In the old days, casinos were places where you could go to gamble, drink and meet people. There were table games, bingo and karaoke. Nowadays, casinos are full of high-tech electronic equipment and a wide variety of games of chance. You can play blackjack, poker, roulette and other games of chance in modern casinos, but most people still come to casinos to try their luck at slot machines.
Every casino game has a built in mathematical advantage for the house. This advantage can be small, but when it is multiplied by the millions of bets placed by patrons each year, the house edges add up. Casinos make money by charging a fee to patrons who play games of chance and by charging players who play skill-based games like poker or baccarat a percentage of their winnings. These fees are often called the vig or the rake.
Something about the nature of gambling encourages people to cheat, steal and scam. That is why casinos spend a lot of money on security. They have elaborate surveillance systems with cameras that watch each table, window and doorway, and can be adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons. Casinos also have computer chips that track betting patterns and can warn the security staff if someone has an abnormal betting pattern.