Security at a Casino

A casino is a place where people gamble on games of chance. Some casinos add a host of other amenities to attract customers, including restaurants, free drinks and stage shows. Casinos are usually located in cities with large populations or in tourist areas.

Most of these casinos use a variety of surveillance technologies to watch the gambling floor and patrons. These systems range from simple cameras to elaborate “eyes-in-the-sky” installations that allow security workers to monitor the casino’s interior from a room filled with banks of security screens. In addition, the patterns of normal play at the tables and in the slot machines help security personnel spot unusual activity.

In the past, mob money fueled much of the growth of Nevada casinos, and organized crime figures were often present on the casino floors, sometimes taking sole or partial ownership of the properties. This gave the casinos a taint that made many legitimate businessmen wary of becoming involved in what was basically an illegal enterprise.

In the twentieth century, casinos have become more choosy about their investments and focus much of their attention on the high-stakes gamblers who generate a significant portion of the revenue. These high rollers often gamble in special rooms that are isolated from the main gaming area and where the stakes can be in the tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, these gamblers are usually offered comps such as free hotel rooms and discounted meals.