A casino is a place for gambling and entertainment. It is often combined with a hotel, restaurant, retail shopping and other tourist attractions. Casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment events and performances.

Casinos use interior design to encourage patrons to spend more money, and they try to minimize their awareness of the passage of time. They do this by using bright and often gaudy floor and wall coverings that are intended to stimulate the senses and make people lose track of time. The lighting is carefully controlled and can be adjusted to highlight certain aspects of the design. In some casinos, large prizes are displayed prominently, such as a sports car on a pedestal.

Most games in a casino are banked, meaning that the house has a built-in advantage over the players. The advantage can be very small, less than two percent, but it adds up over the millions of bets made each year. The house advantage is known as the vig or the rake, and it is how casinos make their money.

In the early days of the casino business, the mob controlled many of them. But eventually, real estate investors and hotel chains bought out the mobsters and started running their own casinos without mob interference. The mob did not like this because it reduced their power over gambling operations. The mob also did not want to be involved in the legalization of casinos because it would hurt their control over illegal activities, such as prostitution and loan sharking.