A casino is a facility where people can gamble on games of chance or skill. These games include card games like poker, table games like blackjack and roulette, and dice games such as craps. Casinos usually feature one or more gaming floors, with slot machines scattered throughout. Some casinos also offer live entertainment such as concerts or theatrical productions, and some have restaurants and bars.

A number of people have a vested interest in casino operations: owners, investors, employees, government officials and local residents. Casino gambling brings in billions of dollars annually for the corporations, investment funds and Native American tribes that run them. It also provides jobs and tax revenues for states, cities and towns.

Casinos are built with specific goals in mind. They try to impress their patrons with expensive tastes and opulence. Their interior designs can vary greatly, but most try to create a sense of excitement and mystery. They also strive to minimize patrons’ awareness of the passage of time by using lighting and other distraction techniques.

Casinos have long been popular with tourists, but in the 1950s they became a destination for many Americans as well. Nevada was the first state to allow legal gambling, and a wave of casinos grew from there. Casinos were later introduced on Atlantic City, New Jersey; in Iowa on riverboats and at various Indian reservations; and in many countries around the world. Some governments restrict or ban gambling, while others regulate it to some extent.