During the 16th century, casinos were first invented in Europe. The gambling craze spread throughout the continent. The Italian aristocracy played casino games at their private clubs called ridotti.

In the United States, the most popular casino games are slot machines, craps and roulette. These games provide billions of dollars in profits to casinos every year.

Slot machines are the economic mainstay of American casinos. Hundreds of thousands of these machines are installed in the United States today. They are controlled by computer chips that randomly determine the payouts. They are supervised by specialized casino security departments.

Casinos in the United States are growing as more states seek to legalize casino gambling. The biggest concentration of casinos is in Las Vegas. Other major cities, such as Atlantic City, New Jersey, have a smaller number of casinos.

Blackjack, craps, and roulette provide billions in profits to U.S. casinos each year. These games are regulated by state laws.

Many casinos offer free drinks, cigarettes and other luxuries to attract gamblers. They also offer reduced-fare transportation to high rollers.

These casinos have security departments that monitor the games and protect their assets. They usually consist of a physical security force and a specialized surveillance department.

The casinos on the Las Vegas strip take this to another level. They have cameras in the ceiling that watch each doorway and window. These are able to be adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons.

A specialized surveillance department operates a closed circuit television system at the casinos. These video feeds are recorded and reviewed after the fact.