A casino, also known as a gambling house, is a place where people can play games of chance for money. Casinos usually have slot machines and other mechanical devices, but some have table games as well. The games give a predictable long-term advantage to the house, but some have a skill element as well. Skillful players can minimize the house advantage, and are sometimes called advantage players.
Gambling has been part of human culture for millennia, with evidence dating back to 2300 BC in China. The first modern casinos began appearing in the 1980s, in Atlantic City and then throughout the world, particularly on American Indian reservations where state antigambling laws do not apply.
In addition to slots and other mechanical devices, a typical casino may have table games such as roulette, craps and blackjack. Some have poker tables, where patrons play each other, and the casino makes its profit by taking a percentage of the pot or charging an hourly fee. Many casinos also offer sports betting, where patrons bet against the house.
While the main income source of a casino is its gambling operations, most modern casinos add restaurants, free drinks and stage shows to attract customers. They may be located in luxury hotels, standalone buildings or on cruise ships. In the past, some casinos were funded by organized crime groups that financed them with mafia-style loans and grants. These mobsters often took sole or partial ownership of the casinos and exerted control over their operations with threats of violence against casino personnel.