A casino (or gaming house) is an establishment that houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are usually built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shops and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also feature live entertainment.

Gambling in all its forms-from the casual with a bookie to the sophisticated at the table-has been part of human culture for millennia. The earliest evidence comes from 2300 BC China, when archaeologists discovered wooden blocks used in games of chance. Dice appeared in Rome around 500 AD, and card games made their way to Europe by the 1400s.

In the movie Casino, Scorsese lays bare the mafia’s grip on Las Vegas’s opulent world of gambling. While it lacks the pizzazz of Goodfellas, it’s still a riveting film about one man’s downward spiral and the mob’s predatory nature. Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone are both excellent, but it’s Joe Pesci’s portrayal of a man who’s more scumbag than a bowl of Skittles that really makes this movie.

The flashing lights, bright colors, and noise of a casino create an environment that’s enticing to many people. Casinos also employ tricks like strategically placing essential amenities like toilets, restaurants and cash machines deep within the gambling floor to ensure that players are exposed to as much gambling action as possible. This technique increases the chances that players will make spur-of-the-moment decisions to stay longer and play more. In addition, casino games often have “near wins” – when the player is tantalizingly close to winning – that trigger the brain’s reward system and encourage them to keep playing.