Casinos are great places to play some of your favourite games, including Slots and Roulette and have been loved for decades, so there’s a lot of history that surrounds them.
There may be some facts, including historical ones, that you might not even believe!
If you want to play in an online casino or bet on sports without leaving your home, then bet using phone bill here. If you prefer to play at a land-based casino venue, or at an online casino, here are some facts that may surprise you…
1. The origins of casinos
Some casinos around the world are so beautiful and founded on great history, but who started these stunning casino experiences?
Here’s where we travel to Italy, where the word ‘casino’ originated, coming from the word ‘casa’ which means ‘house’.
‘Casa’ began to be developed to cover different places, like social clubs, which is then where it developed into casino, which fits as some of the first types of organised gaming can be dated back to Venice in 1638.
2. The ‘World’s Smallest Casino’
Would you believe it if you heard that what’s claimed to be the smallest casino doesn’t even have an address?
This would be the Grosvenor Casino in London, which has a mobile casino in the back of a black cab for promotional reasons – it includes a dealer, gaming table, bar and even a TV displaying sports.
If you want to travel in it, you can go anywhere in London by either making a donation to charity, or head to the main casino for free!
3. The first casino license
You might think that the Las Vegas casino industry started off as being solely male dominated, however the first legal casino license was issued to a woman.
Her name was Mayme Stocker and the license was for the Northern Club in 1920.
She opened the casino solely in her name, as her husband didn’t want any involvement (to begin with) – offering only five legal games, one being Stud Poker.
4. The largest casino in the US
You may instantly be thinking of Las Vegas, but no, the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville Oklahoma is the largest casino in the US.
It first opened in 2003, but it was upgraded significantly in 2013 and now it covers 600,000 feet of floor space!
It not only includes some of your favourite casino games, but a hotel, a number of restaurants and two pools.
5. A second career?
When sportspersons retire from their game, some move onto the casino world.
Teddy Sheringham – a former England striker is said to have won over £330,000 at various Poker tables.
Although, it’s important to remember that a win isn’t guaranteed, as casino games are chance-based, but you can still try your chances!
6. What was going on in Nevada State Prison?
Nevada has a big casino industry, so much so that their prison had a casino inside it for 35 years, where they could play games like Blackjack, or sports betting.
They would bet inside what was called the ‘Bullpen’, which was the stone building on the prison’s grounds, developed in Carson City up until 1967.
Later that year, a new warden entered and shut it down and it was never seen again…
7. First online casino
There is some debate on this – some say the first online casino was created by an Antiguan company called Intercasino in 1996.
However, it’s most believable that the first online casino was developed in 1994, by Microgaming, which is still one of the most popular casino software providers.
With 7 fun facts to take into your next game, what else will you discover?
