Humans have been gambling since pre-historic times. From gaming implements of sticks and stones to more sophisticated gambling activities in the Egyptian, Greek, Chinese and Roman Empires, there hasn't been a time or a society in history where people haven't played games with the hope that they'll win prizes.
Some of the games involve skill, winning others is reliant on luck and some games combine the two. But in all cases, the fun and excitement of real money gaming engenders excitement and anticipation that goes beyond the question of who wins.
Entire university departments study statistics about betting habits worldwide, the evolution of games, the intersection between gaming skill and luck, odds of different games, online casino platforms and more.
You don't have to sign up for a degree program to learn more about the world of gambling. The SlotoCash casino invites you to check out some of our gaming trivia to learn more about gaming entertainment's history and evolution.
Casinos
Q. Are all of Nevada's casinos located in gambling zones?
A. For 35 years, Nevada's State Prison had a casino inside the prison walls. Inmates who were being given privileges for good behavior were allowed to play games like poker, blackjack, gin rummy and craps. Sports betting was also permitted. Coins were in the denominations of 5c, 10c, 25c, 50c, $1, and $5. The casino, known as the "Bullpen," was run by the inmates.
In addition to inmate gamblers, the prison casino was visited by outsiders, including state officials and members of the local Kiwanis Club. The Bullpen was shut down in 1967 by Warden Carl Hocker, who felt that prisoners could be undergoing a more comprehensive rehabilitation program if their free time was limited to handicrafts and visits to the prison library.
Luxury
Q. Are all casinos large and luxurious like Vegas casinos?
A. Many casinos, especially those located in rural and out-of-the-way locations, are relatively small venues that don't measure more than 100 sq. meters or less.
The world's smallest casino operates inside a London taxi cab and you can play your games as you move around the city from one location to the next. That may not seem so strange to gamers who are used to playing at online platforms on mobile devices but the London cab-casino is equipped with a gaming table, a dealer and even a bar.
Other unusual casino sites include the River Casino in Illinois that was built on a large, shallow pool of water to circumvent Illinois' ban on casinos (the law has since been rescinded), the Desert Cave Hotel Casino that was built underground in Coober Pedy, Australia, the Esperanza Base in Antarctica where only the hardiest gamers come to play amidst the icy Antarctic tundra and the Resorts World Sentosa where you can stay in an Ocean Suite underwater bedroom.
Roulette Superstitions
Q. How did religious authorities try to dissuade gamblers from playing roulette in Christian Europe?
A. Is it a coincidence that the numbers on a roulette wheel, which start at zero and go up to 36, add up to 666, the biblical "number of the beast"? Maybe and maybe not but the fact was certainly used by the Church to try to convince gamblers to stay away from the roulette table in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The game of roulette was based on the perpetual motion machine, invented by Blaise Pascal in 17th century France. The roulette game involves a tossed ball that is thrown into a spinning wheel. Payouts are based on the player's prediction of which of the 36 numbered and colored pockets the ball will land.
The machine evolved into a gaming wheel when Francois Blanc, the "Magician of Homburg" brought the roulette wheel to Monte Carlo casinos in the 18th century. According to some accounts, Blanc made a deal with the devil that would allow him to understand the secrets of roulette.
To that end, the devil encouraged him to build the roulette wheel with 36 consecutively numbered pockets. 1+2+3+4…….+35+36=666, the number that is mentioned in the Christian Book of Revelations as a symbol that signifies evil, corruption and the devil himself.
Longest Poker Game
Q. What's the longest poker game ever played?
A. History's longest poker game was played at the Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone, Arizona from 1881 to 1889. The game went on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for 8 years.
Participants paid $1000 to join and put up stakes of up to $100,000, a fortune in that era. Players included some of history's most noted and notorious figures such as Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.
Luckiest Jackpot Winner
Q. Who was the biggest casino jackpot winner?
A. According to statisticians, based on the number of stops that a slot machine makes and based on the number of jackpot symbols that appear on each reel, the odds of winning a progressive jackpot are 1 in 49.8 million spins. No one told that to Elmer Sherwin, a WWII vet who played the Vegas slots and beat trillions-to-one odds to win a Mega Jackpot TWICE. Sherwin won on the Vegas Strip in 1989 and in 2005.
Sherwin was playing at the Mirage Casino in 1989 when he bet $3 on a Megabucks machine and created a winning jackpot combination for a payout of $4.65 million. Until that date, his win was the largest Vegas jackpot ever won. Sixteen years later, Sherwin won a second jackpot at the Downtown Cannery Casino valued at $21.1 million. Sherwin donated a large portion of his winnings to charitable causes.
Gambling history will astound gamers, observers and other casino enthusiasts.