A casino, also known as a gaming house or gambling hall, is an establishment for social amusements, especially gambling. Its definition varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but most casinos are places where people can play games of chance or skill for money. Some casinos are built as standalone buildings; others are integrated into hotels, resorts, or entertainment complexes. Most casinos are operated by governments or private businesses, but some are owned by religious organizations or Native American tribes.
A large part of the modern casino business is attracting and keeping gamblers by using a variety of techniques, including noise, light, and scents. The Hotel Lisboa in Macau, designed to resemble a birdcage, is one of the most spectacular examples of this. Casinos also use specialized departments to analyze the habits of gamblers and develop strategies to influence their behavior.
In games where the players compete against each other, such as blackjack and poker, the casino makes its profit by taking a percentage of each pot or charging an hourly fee for play. In contrast, in games such as roulette and craps, the casino makes its profits by imposing a mathematical edge, which is independent of skill.
When asked what kind of casino games they most like to play, a survey conducted in March 2002 by Gemini Research found that slot machines were the favorite of 50% of respondents, while card games such as blackjack and poker were preferred by 30%. Bingo and keno were less popular, with each attracting only 6% of the respondents.