A casino is a place where people can play games, gamble and enjoy entertainment. It is also a popular tourist attraction. The best casinos are well-known for their elegance, high stakes gambling, luxury accommodations and breath-taking art installations. Some are even renowned for their dancing fountains and top-notch restaurants. A few of the world’s most famous casinos have even appeared in movies, including the Monte Carlo casino – featured in the movie Ocean’s 11.
The history of casinos is long and varied. Originally, they were places where the public could gather for music and dancing. Later, they were known as places where the public could try their luck at games of chance. In America, they became more common in the 1970s, when states began changing their antigambling laws and casinos popped up all over the country. Many of these were built on Native American reservations, which were exempt from state law and allowed the establishments to operate.
The first casinos were funded by organized crime. Gangsters had lots of money from extortion, drug dealing and other illegal rackets and were willing to back legitimate gambling operations. But federal crackdowns and the fear of losing a license at the slightest hint of mob involvement eventually forced these owners to take steps to purge their casinos of the mobsters’ influence. The result was that legitimate businessmen with deep pockets bought out the mobsters and took sole or partial ownership of casinos.