The glitz, the glamour and the endless entertainment that define casinos. Gambling, in all its forms, has been part of human civilization for millennia. Archeologists have found wooden blocks used in games of chance in China dating back to 2300 BC, dice were in use in Rome by 500 AD, and card games appeared around the 1400s. The modern casino is a large, commercial facility that offers gambling, usually on various types of random outcomes. It can be located in an urban, resort, or a mountaintop setting and may include a hotel, restaurants, bars, shopping and a large gaming floor.

Many modern casinos feature a large selection of electronic gaming machines. They also offer table games such as blackjack, roulette and craps that are conducted by croupiers and involve some degree of skill. Some casinos, such as the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, also have a separate area for sports betting.

Most casino games have a built-in house advantage, a mathematical certainty that casinos must cover in order to make money over time. In some games, such as poker, the player’s level of skill can reduce the house edge; but in other games, such as slot machines, there is no way for a player to overcome it. Casinos often employ mathematicians and computer programmers specializing in game theory to calculate the house edge and variance for each of their games. These calculations enable them to know how much money they should expect to earn per wager and to spot any anomalies quickly.