First time in a casino
 

So I'm turning 21 this month and I'm going to Vegas for my party. While there, I plan on hitting the casinos (of course) to play some poker. The thing is, I've never gambled at a casino before and I was wondering if someone could tell me how it works. Do I just buy the minimum amount of chips and sit down? Also, are there etiquette rules I should know so that I don't make a complete fool out of myself?

I dunno about US casinos, but I have been to a German casino a few months ago and basically there is minimum amount of chips you gotta buy (50 € in the said casino) and then, well, you just go wherever you want. Roulette, BlackJack, Poker,... There are different tables for different inputs, so if you don't have many high-valued chips (there were 10, 100, 500 and 1,000 € chips in the casino), you should ask somebody for the lowest table and go play there.

But as I said, I am pretty sure there ARE huge differences between German and US casinos, so you better wait for someone more qualified to tell you ^.^

Watch the movie ''Swingers''.

Rule #1 of casinos: THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS.
Rule #2 of casinos: THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS.

I've seen Swingers, but it was a long time ago. I don't remember there being rules about what to do in casinos and I think I'd rather have a real answer than rely on a movie. A for effort.