A casino is a place where people can play a variety of games of chance and, in some cases, skill. Gambling is a popular pastime for many and it can lead to serious problems. The gambling industry is a multibillion dollar business. The casinos employ a number of tricks to keep people coming back for more.
The average casino patron is a forty-six year old woman who has above-average income and vacation time, according to research by Roper Reports GfK NOP and TNS. Casinos focus on customer service, offering free drinks and food and special perks to gamblers who spend significant amounts of money. These perks are called comps and they can include free hotel rooms, dinner, tickets to shows and limo service.
In addition to comps, casinos use a wide variety of technological systems to help them track gamblers’ spending habits and identify cheating. For example, a computer can monitor the amount of money wagered on individual slot machines minute by minute to detect any statistical deviation from expected results. In addition, casino games use a variety of routines and patterns that are easily recognizable by security personnel. The way chips are moved, the location of betting spots and the expected reactions of players all follow particular patterns. This makes it easy for trained security to spot abnormal behavior. For example, a player who is constantly adjusting their seat in roulette or pushing the’max bet’ button on a slot machine is probably trying to cheat.