There are many things that a casino does to attract gamblers and make them stay. Some of them are gimmicky, while others are very real and psychologically impactful. From wafting scented oils to playing games of chance, they offer an experience that makes you feel like you’re in a world of opulence.

Martin Scorsese’s Casino is a movie that doesn’t just scratch the surface of Vegas, it lays bare its history with organized crime and how it became what it is today. It’s a tense thriller that’s riveting until the very end. The cast, especially Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, are incredible.

Local proponents of casinos often use a drop in the area’s unemployment rate as evidence that casinos help improve local employment. However, this is misleading. The decrease in the local unemployment rate may be a result of people moving to work for the casino, but it is important to also look at how the overall unemployment rate has changed over time. The local unemployment rate should be compared with the state’s average unemployment rate to determine whether casinos truly improve local employment. Besides bringing jobs, casinos also increase the tax revenue of their home communities. These revenues can be used to pay for essential community services and infrastructure projects or avoid spending cuts in other sectors.