A casino is an establishment for certain types of gambling. These gambling houses are often combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, and cruise ships. The term is also used to refer to the entire gaming operation, including the management and staff. In the United States, the most notable casinos are in Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Chicago, Illinois. Other notable casinos include the Monte Carlo, in Monaco; Circus Circus, in Reno, Nevada; and Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore.
Casinos are popular amongst high rollers and casual gamblers alike. The best casinos combine high stakes with high luxury, offering opulent suites and spas alongside the traditional roulette wheel and blackjack table.
The largest casino on earth is The Venetian Macao, a spectacular complex that cost a staggering $2.4 billion to build and has a massive 550,000-square-foot gambling area. Its quasi-Venetian design and canals make it a true spectacle to behold, and the huge structure is the sixth largest building in the world.
Because large amounts of money are handled within a casino, both patrons and staff may be tempted to cheat or steal, in collusion with others or independently. This is why many casinos have security measures in place to deter such activities. A typical modern casino has a physical security force that patrols the premises and responds to calls for assistance or reports of suspicious or definite criminal activity, and a specialized surveillance department that operates the closed-circuit television system known as the eye in the sky.