Besides being the place to play a number of different games of chance, a casino also offers a host of other amenities and attractions. These include hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and entertainment events.

Casinos typically feature hundreds of tables and hundreds of slot machines. There are even instances of video poker. Some of the more popular games include roulette and baccarat.

Typically, a casino will give its customers free drinks. Some casinos also offer free cigarettes to their customers. Some offer extravagant inducements to big bettors. These can include discounted transportation.

Casinos also have security measures in place. These include surveillance cameras in the ceiling and in the doors and windows. They are designed to watch all of the games at once. These cameras also monitor the behavior of casino patrons.

These cameras are also designed to detect blatant cheating. The casino can also track all of its players using “chip tracking” which involves betting chips with built-in microcircuitry. The advantage of this system is that it can track wagers minute by minute.

Another way casinos maintain their advantage over the player is through a system called the “house edge.” The house edge is an inherent advantage the casino has over the player.

The house edge is calculated by taking the mathematical odds of each game. The casino has an advantage over the player in most games, but this advantage is small enough that the casino can afford to lose money in other games.