A casino is a gambling establishment that rakes in billions of dollars each year for the businesses, corporations, investors and Native American tribes that own and operate them. It’s also a cash cow for local governments in the form of taxes and fees.

The modern casino is like an enormous indoor amusement park for adults, with entertainment offerings such as musical shows and lighted fountains in addition to gaming options. But casinos would not exist without games of chance, and slots, blackjack, poker, roulette, baccarat, craps and keno account for most of the billions that casinos rake in each year.

Gambling was illegal for most of the nation’s history, and it wasn’t until 1931 that Nevada legalized casino gambling. But once that happened, it was just a matter of time before other states realized that they could capitalize on this lucrative business.

As a result, there are now more than thirty states that allow some type of casino gambling. Some have a handful of large, high-end establishments while others have many small, family-owned casinos scattered across the state.

The most popular casino games are slot machines, followed by card games and then table games. Other games, such as bingo and keno, are far less popular. Each casino game has a built-in statistical advantage for the house, or “vig” as it’s known in the industry. The vig can be very low, as little as two percent, but it adds up over the millions of bets placed each day by patrons.