When you think of Casino, you might envision a huge Las Vegas resort brimming with flashy lights and games. But casinos come in all shapes and sizes, from massive resorts to small card rooms. They are found in cities, towns, and rural areas across the country. Some even operate on barges and riverboats. Casino gambling brings in billions of dollars each year for the businesses, corporations and investors that own them. And it benefits state and local governments, as well as Native American tribes.
But there’s one thing you must know before you step inside a Casino: The house always wins. Every casino game has a built-in mathematical advantage for the house. It’s a small percentage, but it adds up over the millions of bets placed each year. The house edge is the casino’s share of the money gamblers win, or lose, on each bet.
In order to offset the house edge, Casinos offer a variety of perks and incentives to get you to gamble. These perks are known as comps, and they can include free meals, rooms, show tickets and even airfare! Most casinos also have clubs that track patron’s play and tally up points they can exchange for free stuff.
To entice big bettors, some Casinos have special floors or suites where high-rollers can gamble in private and receive special treatment. The best casinos know that their largest source of profits comes from these high-stakes gamblers, and they are willing to invest heavily in attracting them.