A casino is a building or room in which gambling activities take place. Its customers gamble by playing games of chance or skill (including craps, roulette, blackjack, video poker, and baccarat) for cash or other prizes. The most popular casino games are slot machines and table games such as blackjack, craps, and roulette. A casino also may offer complimentary drinks and food to its customers. Casinos are most often found in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, but are now spread across the United States.

A casino can be a tempting place for both employees and patrons to cheat or steal, either in collusion or independently. Because of the large amounts of money handled in a casino, security measures are essential to keep both players and staff safe. These measures include a combination of surveillance cameras and personnel monitoring. Casinos are also designed to be euphoric environments, featuring dazzling lights and music that create a manufactured state of bliss. This atmosphere can make a player feel more invincible, making them want to play longer. This is why casinos usually lack clocks and windows, ensuring that players do not know what time of day it is.

With a script written by Nicholas Pileggi, who also wrote the book upon which this film is based, and starring Robert De Niro as the mob boss with an impeccable attention to detail, Casino is a riveting story of greed, treachery, and violence. While it does not have the pizzazz of Goodfellas, this film is no less a testament to how fucked up that lifestyle really was.