Casinos are places where gambling takes place. They offer many different games of chance, and sometimes skill, such as poker, blackjack and video poker. Most of these games have a built-in advantage for the house, which is mathematically determined and called the house edge. Casinos also take a percentage of the money played, which is called the rake. Some casinos give out free goods and services, called comps, to players. This is based on how much money they play, and their level of play.
Casino security starts on the floor, where dealers watch the patrons and try to detect blatant cheating such as palming, marking or switching cards or dice. In table games, pit bosses and managers have a broader view of the tables, and look for betting patterns that indicate cheating. Pit bosses and managers are assisted by table surveillance, which is conducted by trained surveillance agents who work from a separate room filled with banks of surveillance monitors.
Something about gambling seems to encourage people to cheat, steal and scam their way into a jackpot. That’s why casinos spend a great deal of time, effort and money on security. In addition, they use sophisticated electronic systems to monitor their games. For example, chip tracking enables casinos to oversee the exact amounts of money wagered on a game minute by minute; and roulette wheels are electronically monitored to discover any statistical deviation from their expected results. Other technology includes high-tech “eyes-in-the-sky” systems that allow security workers to watch every table, doorway and window at a given moment.