A casino is a place where people can gamble on games of chance. It is a highly profitable business, generating billions in profits each year. Modern casinos are designed like indoor amusement parks and feature lighted fountains, music shows, shopping centers and elaborate hotels. However, the vast majority of a casino’s profits are derived from gambling. Casinos offer a wide variety of games such as slots, poker, blackjack, roulette, craps and baccarat. These games are based on luck, but some have an element of skill as well. The house edge, a mathematical advantage for the casino, can be as low as two percent in some games, but over time it adds up to a substantial amount of money.
To maximize their profit potential, casinos employ many psychological tricks to entice and keep visitors. Bright colors such as red are used throughout the casino to stimulate the senses and keep people gambling. More than 15,000 miles (24,100 km) of neon tubing is used to light Las Vegas casinos. Casinos also use the humming and clanging of slot machines, the bright lights and the smell of cigarette smoke to lure customers.
To encourage gamblers to spend more money, casinos often offer “complimentaries” or free items. These are commonly known as comps. During the 1970s, Las Vegas casinos were famous for giving away free hotel rooms, meals and tickets to shows to big gamblers. Some casinos even offered free limo service and airplane tickets to high rollers.