Vegas Chinatown

Introduction

Casino: That's Entertainment!

The word casino evokes images of lights, ladies in tights, and the bustling exchange of chips for cards, a spin on the roulette wheel or the roll of the dice. Casinos are public facilities that offer gambling or games of chance played with wagers or bets. Modern casinos offer more than just gambling; they offer concerts, variety shows, restaurants and shopping areas making them an ideal vacation stop for the entire family. Modern casinos are adjacent, near or located inside hotels.

Casino originated from the Italian word casa which means house. The word evolved through time, from a simple house used for social gatherings to that of a gambling facility.

Casinos are enigmatic and keep patrons coming back for more while drawing new converts each second. Casinos are glamour, glitter and gold. Yet they are acknowledged to have a darker side. High stakes private games for high rollers; links with the mafia and other organized crime; crimes of passion; and stories of lives ruined by gambling - these are just some of the less than glamorous side of casinos that have been chronicled by historians, news programs, tabloid magazines and countless movies.

Subtle yet great efforts to revitalize and project casinos as legitimate facilities not just of gambling but of entertainment in general have been implemented over the years. Sensational sporting events such as boxing, wrestling and billiards are constantly held within the same compound or building of the casinos. They have served as backdrops to live performances for General Patronage and Parental Guidance icons like Britney Spears (pre-Federline) and major awards shows.

Shows like Las Vegas provide an intimate look at casino operations. It reveals that a casino is run in part like any other business or corporation, and in part like a police cum secret agency.

Games frequently played in casinos like poker have been elevated into a legitimate sport with highly publicized poker tournaments. By establishing poker as an authentic athletic event akin to chess, casinos become important training grounds as well.

One of the more interesting devices casinos have implemented to prove their legitimacy is the so-called conscientious signs. These conspicuous signs remind guests and regular patrons about the hazards of developing an addiction to gambling. They range from asking questions that would help the patron realize if he or she has developed an addiction to offering a toll free phone number to help gamblers get rid of the addiction.