In these decadent temples of chance, opulent suites and spas coexist alongside roulette wheels and blackjack tables. From Macau to Vegas, these ten casinos take high stakes gambling to a whole new level.
Casinos are places where the rules of probability and chance meet a culture of glamour. In their heyday, they were playgrounds for the elites of Europe, drawing royalty and aristocracy from across the continent to affluent resort towns like Baden-Baden. Today, the most exclusive casinos are as likely to be found in Asia as they are in Las Vegas.
Besides their physical security force, modern casinos employ a specialized surveillance department that monitors all casino activity through closed circuit television cameras. This technology allows casinos to supervise games minute by minute, and alert them quickly if a game is rigged. Other security measures include using betting chips with microcircuitry that interacts with electronic systems on table games, and electronically monitoring roulette wheels for statistical deviations.
Most casinos make their profit from a small percentage of all bets placed, or by charging hourly rental fees for gaming rooms and table games. In addition, some casinos host high-profile entertainment events such as high-flying circus acts and top-billed musical artists. Other revenue streams include food and beverage sales, hotel accommodations, and merchandise sales. These revenue sources give casinos a virtual assurance of gross profits, which means that a casino can afford to offer big bettors extravagant inducements. These might include free spectacular entertainment, luxury living quarters, or reduced-fare transportation and hotel rooms.
