How Casinos Make Their Money
From the flashing lights and glitzy slot machines of Las Vegas to the illegal pai gow tables in New York’s Chinatown, casinos are a place where people risk their money and, hopefully, win it back. Although the glamorous shows, lighted fountains and hotels that populate casino buildings attract visitors from near and far, the vast majority of casino profits come from gambling. In this article, we’ll look at how casinos make their money and some of the popular games played in them, as well as explore security measures, gaming laws, comps and the dark side of casino business.
How casinos make their money
A casino’s profits are based on the house edge, which is the statistical advantage a casino holds over each player. The house edge is a combination of the probability of winning and the prospective payout for a winning wager. The house edge ensures that casinos will profit over time, even if individual patrons lose their bets.
Security measures
The high-tech “eye-in-the-sky” surveillance systems in a casino give security workers a bird’s eye view of the entire floor from a room filled with banks of monitors. The cameras are easily adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons, and their movements are recorded in case they cheat or commit a crime. In addition, each casino table has a pit boss or manager who watches over it. This person can easily spot blatant table game cheats like palming, marking or switching cards and dice, as well as betting patterns that could indicate cheating.