From the glitzy towers of Las Vegas to Macau’s high-rise birdcage, casinos offer a glamorous escape from reality. The world’s best casinos go above and beyond the usual gambling fare, combining luxurious accommodations, spas, and haute cuisine with roulette wheels and blackjack tables. They’ve even been featured in a few movies, including the iconic dancing fountains of the Bellagio and the James Bond movie Ocean’s 11.
Casinos are designed to make money. While lighted fountains, restaurants with celebrity chefs and shopping centers help draw people in, the vast majority of profits come from games of chance. Slot machines, blackjack, poker and other table games generate billions of dollars in profits each year for casino owners.
While the flamboyance of casinos attracts people from around the globe, they are not without their dark side. Compulsive gamblers, a significant portion of casino patrons, can create large losses for themselves and the companies that employ them. Gambling addiction has also been shown to reduce a community’s overall economic health, countering any gains from casino revenues.
In the 1950s, mob money helped establish the casino business in Nevada and other states. But organized crime figures weren’t content to just provide the bankroll for these new entertainment venues. They wanted to become involved and exert control over their operations. They took sole or partial ownership of many casinos and manipulated game results to their benefit. Mob involvement waned in the 1990s as real estate investors and hotel chains realized how lucrative casinos could be. In addition to eliminating the need for mafia funding, federal crackdowns on illegal racketeering helped weed out mob influence in casinos.