A casino (plural: casinos) is an establishment for gambling. Casinos provide a variety of gaming opportunities, including slot machines and table games such as blackjack, roulette and poker. They may also offer live entertainment and top-notch hotels, spas and restaurants.
A specialized department within a casino usually conducts statistical analyses on the data produced by the casino’s gaming operations, such as the house edge and variance for each game. The mathematicians and computer programmers who perform this work are known as gaming mathematicians and gaming analysts, respectively.
The modern casinos often include a large number of tables for the games of chance, and some even have arenas for sports events and concerts. They are located all over the world, in places like Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, Singapore and Macau. Some are independent while others belong to chains. The newest, largest and most expensive of these casinos is the Venetian in Macau.
The elegant spa town of Baden-Baden first became a playground for wealthy Europeans 150 years ago, drawing royalty and aristocracy to its red-and-gold card rooms and blackjack tables. Today, the casino is one of the best-equipped and most lavish in the world, with baroque flourishes and an interior designed by Christian Dior. Its guests are almost always wealthy and well-connected, and the casino is a magnet for international celebrities.