A casino is a building or large room used for gambling games, entertainment, and dining. The casino industry is a major source of income for many countries, and it has become a popular tourist destination. The most famous casino is the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco, which was built in 1863 and is considered to be one of the oldest casinos in the world.
Gambling has been part of human life for millennia. The earliest evidence comes from 2300 BC China with the discovery of wooden blocks used in games of chance, dice appeared around 500 AD, and card games started to become commonplace in Europe in the 1400s, when baccarat emerged and eventually spread to North America.
Modern casinos utilize technology extensively for both security and game supervision. Some examples include chip tracking, where betting chips with built-in microcircuitry enable casinos to monitor the exact amount of money wagered minute by minute and alert them to any anomaly; and electronic monitoring of roulette wheels and dice, which discovers statistical deviations quickly and easily. Mathematicians and computer programmers working in the casino gaming field are called gaming mathematicians and analysts.
Beyond the opulent interiors of these temples of temptation, casinos often offer a diverse array of gambling products. While most casinos feature a variety of slot machines, which require little skill and no prior knowledge, there are also classic table games like blackjack, poker and trente et quarante. In addition, some Asian casinos offer traditional Far Eastern games like sic bo and fan tan.