The word casino has several different meanings. In the broadest sense, it refers to an establishment that offers a variety of gambling games. It can also mean a specific game, such as poker or roulette. It can also refer to a building that houses one or more of these gaming establishments.
The movie Casino, starring Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone, was inspired by the real-life story of Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who the mob employed to run a string of casinos in Las Vegas starting with the Stardust in 1971. The movie’s screenwriter, Nicholas Pileggi, wrote a book on the subject that was published almost simultaneously with the film’s premiere.
Casinos are designed to be labyrinthine, with no straight paths leading to exits. Their interiors are deliberately kept dark, to prevent people from noticing the time of day or night. Clocks and windows are usually coated in tint to dampen the outside light. Casinos serve free alcoholic beverages to keep patrons boozed up, which lowers inhibitions and improves judgment. But those free drinks aren’t necessarily profitable for the casino, as tipsy players tend to lose more money to the house than they win.
Legalized gambling can be a powerful economic engine, drawing people from all over the country or even the world to a single place, where they can spend large amounts of money with the expectation of winning big. This can help to create many jobs for local residents, bring in new customers for local businesses, and raise the average wage in the area.