A casino is a special establishment where customers can gamble by playing games of chance, in some cases with an element of skill. These games include slot machines, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps, poker and bingo. Casinos are often combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants and other tourist attractions. They are also located on Native American reservations and in some countries in South America, as well as on cruise ships and in some states in the United States.
Modern casinos use a variety of perks to encourage patrons to spend more money. They offer complimentary items (complimentaries) such as drinks and food, and they also arrange stage shows and dramatic scenery to create a fun and exciting environment. They also employ a variety of security measures to deter crime and cheating. Casinos usually have a physical security force that patrols the premises and responds to calls for assistance or reports of suspicious activity. They may also have a specialized surveillance department that operates a closed circuit television system known as an eye in the sky.
The average casino patron is an older person from a household with above-average income. This group is most likely to play at a casino and is more likely than other groups to be addicted to gambling. A recent study by Roper Reports GfK NOP and the U.S. Gaming Panel used face-to-face interviews with 2,000 adults and a mail survey to 100,000 households to identify the characteristics of casino gamblers. The research found that the average gambler was a forty-six-year-old woman who played table games and had an annual income of over $90,000.