The word Casino means “a place for gambling,” and while musical shows, lighted fountains, shopping centers and lavish hotels may draw people in, casinos wouldn’t exist without games of chance. Slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps, keno and baccarat are among the games that provide the billions in profits raked in by casinos each year.
Although gambling probably predates recorded history, the modern idea of a place where gamblers could find a variety of ways to wager under one roof didn’t develop until the 16th century when an Italian craze for dice led to private parties called ridotti. The modern casinos were influenced by organized crime money, with mobster patrons becoming personally involved in the operations and taking sole or partial ownership of many properties.
In addition to traditional casino table games, most American casinos also offer a full range of card games such as baccarat and chemin de fer, along with popular poker variants like Texas hold’em and pai-gow. In games where players play against each other, the house usually makes a profit by taking a percentage of each pot or charging an hourly fee to patrons.
Marketers must constantly keep up with the latest trends in gaming and entertainment to reach potential customers. For example, Millennials are more likely to spend 30% of their casino spending on food and entertainment rather than gaming, so marketing strategies need to take that into account. Also, online gambling and e-sports are quickly expanding in popularity and presenting new opportunities for casinos to attract consumers.
