The word casino evokes images of Las Vegas, Atlantic City and tiny mountain towns that fill their 19th century Wild West buildings with poker tables and slot machines. In fact, casinos are located all over the United States, with many of them catering to specific ethnic groups or geographic regions. The most common target markets are upscale middle-aged females, people from high-income households and seniors with vacation time and money to spare.
While casino customers are generally not wealthy in the sense of being multi-millionaires, they do have considerable disposable income. In 2005, the average American casino gambler was a forty-six year old woman from a household with an above-average income. These women made up 23% of all casino gamblers.
Like other businesses, casinos are oriented around profit and revenue. They would not survive without regular gambling revenues, and these revenue sources would not exist without customers to gamble. Casinos are primarily designed around games of chance, although some have elements of skill such as blackjack, video poker and baccarat. The mathematically determined odds of these games give the house a built-in advantage, and this is called the “house edge.”
In order to minimize players’ concerns about losing money, casinos use a variety of techniques to encourage gambling. Free food and drinks, floor shows and all-you-can-eat buffets are among these perks. Players are also given chips instead of actual cash, which reduces their need to keep track of their winnings and losses. Casinos also place ATM machines on the premises to facilitate withdrawals and deposits. These machines, however, can be costly to the casino, as they incur a fee when a player withdraws funds.
Casinos spend significant amounts of money on security because they are concerned that the large amount of cash and jewelry circulating through their buildings could be stolen by dishonest employees or other patrons. Most casinos use surveillance cameras to monitor the movements of their patrons, and they employ staff with specialized skills such as loss prevention. In addition, casinos employ a number of security measures including metal detectors, card readers and closed circuit television.
Casinos are often located in areas with a high population of people who have discretionary income, such as tourist destinations. They also are located on some Native American reservations, which are exempt from state antigambling laws. In Europe, casinos became more common after the 1980s when several countries amended their national gambling laws. Today, casino gambling is legal in almost all European countries, and many casinos are located in cities with a large population of tourists.