Casinos are dazzling places of flashing lights, ringing slot machines and a palpable sense of excitement. But they’re also highly competitive businesses that operate in a very crowded and dynamic marketplace. They compete not only with each other but also with non-gambling resorts, on-line gambling, private gambling and a thriving illegal business. In order to stay profitable casinos must be able to tap into a deep-seated human desire for risk and thrills.

The main source of revenue for most casinos is the games they offer. Table games like blackjack, poker and roulette are exciting competitions of wits and strategy. Slot machines are simpler to master and allow players to bet a small amount of money and hope that they’ll hit the jackpot. All of these activities, however, require a certain amount of luck. It is very rare for a player to walk out of a casino with more money than when they entered. The odds are always stacked against the patrons.

This explains why casino security is so important. In addition to the high-tech “eye-in-the-sky” systems that monitor all tables, windows and doorways, casinos employ a variety of people who are trained to spot cheaters, thieves and other types of dishonest behavior. Despite all of these measures, something about casino gaming just seems to encourage people to cheat or steal their way into winning a jackpot. This is why so much time, money and energy goes into keeping casinos secure.