The Casino Business – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. In some cases casinos are combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, shopping centers and other entertainment attractions. Regardless of whether you gamble on the slot machines, tables or horse racing, casinos are big business and bring in billions of dollars every year. This article will take a look at how casinos make their money, the history of these gambling establishments, the popular games they offer and the dark side of casino business.

While musical shows, lighted fountains and elaborate hotel themes help draw in the customers, the majority of casinos’ profits are derived from gambling. Games of chance like slots, blackjack, roulette and craps are the source of the billions of dollars raked in by the industry each year. These billions are based on the fact that every game has a built in statistical advantage for the casino.

The exact origins of gambling are unknown, but it is clear that people have always enjoyed risking their money in exchange for a potential prize. From ancient Mesopotamia, through Roman and Elizabethan England to Napoleon’s France and the Orient, gambling has been a staple form of entertainment for many cultures.

As the gambling industry grew in popularity, mobsters saw an opportunity to cash in on the burgeoning demand for entertainment. They began to invest in casinos and even took sole or partial ownership of some of them. However, federal crackdowns and the threat of losing their gaming license at any hint of mob involvement forced these gangsters to abandon their hold on the casino business. Eventually, real estate investors and hotel chains stepped in to buy out the mafia interests and established legitimate casinos.