A casino is a place where champagne glasses clink and locals mingle with tourists, creating an incredible buzz that makes gambling as much about socializing as it is about trying one’s hand at luck. In this movie, Stone perfectly captures the vivacious essence of a casino as she seduces men in their prime, boasting of her ability to keep them hooked with her charm and skill (“smart hustlers like her could keep a man awake for two or three days”).

While casinos are primarily concerned with making profit, they must also offer an entertaining experience that encourages players to gamble longer. This involves ensuring that there is a wide variety of games, with varying stakes to suit all budgets. It also means having the right security measures in place to ensure that gamblers are safe and protected from predatory behavior.

For example, many casinos have high-tech “eyes-in-the-sky” surveillance systems that allow security workers to watch every table, change window and doorway in the entire building at once. This allows them to catch blatant cheats, like palming or marking cards and dice, as well as monitor the money being wagered on each game to see if there are any suspicious patterns that may point to a player trying to win too much. Likewise, slot machines are wired to a central server where statistical deviations can be monitored for suspicious activity. The popularity of different games and entertainment options can also change quickly, so it’s important for casino managers to be able to predict future trends.