Casino History

Casinos are usually built with or near hotels, retail shopping malls, cruise ships, restaurants and various other attractions for tourists. Several casinos are famous for hosting entertainment events live, like concerts, sporting events, and stand-up comedy.

The Origins of Gambling

Sadly, any precise gambling origins aren't known. Also, although the Chinese have the first records and official accounts of gambling in the year 2300 BC, it is believed by the general public that gambling has been around in various ways ever since the being of man. From the Romans and Ancient Greeks to Elizabethan England and Napoleon's France, history is full of entertaining stories based on games of luck.

The First Casinos

The very first known casino in Europe was called the Ridotto. It was established in Italy in 1638 to control gambling activities during the season of carnivals. It closed down in 1770.

In America, earlier casinos were called saloons and their importance and creation were influenced greatly by four big cities: St. Louis, New Orleans, San Francisco and Chicago. In these saloons, travelers found other people to converse, drink, and gamble with. By the 20th century, however, gambling faced a ban and an outlaw by the social reformers and state legislation. But by 1931, gambling became legal in Nevada again and there, the first legal casinos in America spawned to become famous all over the world. New Jersey started to allow gambling in 1978 and the second biggest gambling city can now be found there. Other gaming centers in the American region include Tunica Resort, Biloxi and Mississippi.

Games Types

Customers can gamble through games of luck, like slot machines, craps, baccarat and roulette, or through games of skill, like poker and blackjack. Usually, games come with odds that are determined by math and ensure that the house holds an edge at all times. This is shown more precisely through expected values, which are uniformly negative for players. This is known as the house advantage. In games like poker where every player has to play against the other, however, the casino will take a commission known as the rake.

Usually, casinos will offer up free items, called comps, to their gambler and usually, in the majority of casinos, the more a player shells out money, the more comps or benefits he will get. The house determines what comps the player will get, depending on a formula that has a direct relation to the average bet of the player, the amount of hours played, and the casino's winning percentage over the player. The comps could come in the form of free drinks, penthouse suites, limo service, free food, and free airfare.