A Casino is a place where people can gamble by playing games of chance or skill. It is a large business that earns billions of dollars each year for its owners, investors and gambling customers. In the United States alone, over 51 million people visited a casino in 2002. Casino gambling has also brought in billions of dollars for state and local governments. The word “Casino” is derived from the Italian for “little house.” The first casino was built on Catalina Island in California by wealthy shipping magnate Charles Fey.
Gambling in casinos is usually done through electronic devices such as slot machines and video poker. Some table games, such as blackjack, roulette and craps, require skill. Casinos also make money by taking a percentage of bets made by players, which is called the “house edge.” This advantage can be less than two percent in some games, but over time it can add up to substantial amounts of money for the casinos.
In the past, many casinos had a seamy image, and it was not uncommon for organized crime figures to own or control them. This is largely because of the mob’s vast supply of cash from drug trafficking, extortion and other illegal rackets. Mob money flowed freely into Reno and Las Vegas, where the casino industry was still mostly illegal in other states.
The best casinos have a great price of entry and provide a lot of extras for their guests. Our research team scored 40 casinos across the globe based on six categories: gallery and museum, gym, hotel, spa, price of entry and reviews. The winner of the best casino was Wynn Macau, in Macau, China.