A casino is a place where champagne glasses clink, people sing and tourists and locals mingle in an upbeat atmosphere. There’s a rush that comes with playing casino games, especially when you’re a winner. It’s a game of chance, but it takes some skill to beat the house. Whether you’re a seasoned poker player or just starting out, casinos offer a variety of games for any skill level and budget.

Something about gambling (maybe it’s the fact that it involves large sums of money) seems to encourage people to cheat, steal or scam their way into a jackpot. That’s why casinos spend a significant amount of time, effort and money on security. The high-tech eye-in-the-sky systems are able to monitor every table, window and doorway in the facility. They can even be adjusted to focus on suspicious patrons by security workers in a separate room filled with banks of security monitors.

Despite the many layers of corruption and violence in Scorsese’s film, Casino is a fascinating look at human greed and avarice. The cast of characters – especially the brilliant Sharon Stone as Ginger and Joe Pesci as Santoro – are so convincingly evil that we’re willing to watch them get their comeuppance. The violence, however, isn’t gratuitous or over-the-top. It’s authentic and shocking, because that’s what actually happens in real casinos. From a business perspective, casinos are almost always guaranteed gross profit for each player that walks through their doors. This virtual assurance means that they can afford to offer big bettors extravagant inducements, such as free spectacular entertainment, luxury transportation and elegant living quarters.