Casinos have long been associated with Las Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City in the United States, but many communities benefit from legalized gambling. When a casino brings in substantial tax revenue, it can help local politicians avoid cutting essential community services or raising taxes in other ways. Casinos also create jobs for the area, bringing in more people who can then spend money on other goods and services.
Unlike many other Mafia movies, like “Mean Streets” or “GoodFellas,” Martin Scorsese’s Casino is less concerned with character and plot than it is with history. The movie plays almost like a documentary as it lays bare the mob’s complicated relationship with Las Vegas. It shows how mafia figureheads like Sam “Ace” Rothstein manipulated the casino industry while getting rich themselves. And then it shows how the mob got pushed out of town by huge gambling corporations that run things more like Disneyland than a seedy underworld.
Casino design is intended to be labyrinthine, with curving paths and strategic gaming sections designed to draw your attention back to the table, slot machine or horse-racing screen. And the booze is always flowing, because it lowers inhibitions and clouds judgment. Casinos know that if they can get people to lose track of time and forget about their losses, it will be easier to tempt them with another round of bets.
In order to ensure fair play and prevent problem gambling, casinos must follow strict guidelines set by governing bodies. These include monitoring for problems, providing resources for addiction support and employing security personnel to maintain a safe environment for patrons. Casinos also require their employees to have extensive knowledge of the games they offer, and hire mathematicians or computer programmers with expertise in calculating house edges and variance.