Las Vegas Casinos
The word casino evokes visions of the world’s most opulent gambling dens. It’s a term that comes to us via Italy, where the oldest casino in the world, the Casino di Venezia, sits amid the waterways of this storied city. But if you want to see casinos at their most dazzling, the best place to go is undoubtedly Las Vegas. This is one of the largest gaming centers in the world, and fifteen of its casinos are among the top five biggest.
Gambling in some form has been a part of human culture for millennia. Evidence of dice-based games dates to 2300 BC, and card games arrived in Europe in the 1400s. Modern casinos use a variety of technology to ensure fair play. In some cases, chips with built-in microcircuitry are used to monitor betting amounts minute by minute; roulette wheels are electronically monitored to discover statistical deviations; and cameras watch patrons at table games.
In addition to the usual range of gambling tables and slots, many casinos offer traditional Far Eastern games such as sic bo, fan-tan, and pai-gow. The casino at the MGM Grand on the famed Las Vegas Strip is also known for its lively area dedicated to sports betting, with 60 large plasma tvs where visitors can flick coins on American football, boxing, and martial arts.
Because of the large amounts of money handled within a casino, both patrons and staff may be tempted to cheat or steal. In addition to security cameras, casinos employ a variety of rules and procedures designed to deter these behaviors.
The word casino evokes visions of the world’s most opulent gambling dens. It’s a term that comes to us via Italy, where the oldest casino in the world, the Casino di Venezia, sits amid the waterways of this storied city. But if you want to see casinos at their most dazzling, the best place to…