10 Crazy Facts You Didn't Know About Casinos & Gambling

We’re all here because we adore the experience, whether we’ve visited a real-world casino or played a few slots online. In the modern era, it’s simpler than ever to spin the reels or play a few hands of poker. Casinos are a great place to find fascinating myths, legends, and tales that almost sound unbelievable. There are stories of unbelievable good fortune, dubious capitalism, and repulsive personal hygiene. The most fascinating information on casinos and gambling comes from cultures where it is illegal, demonstrating how difficult it is to dissuade individuals from the appeal of a big win.Here are some of the weirdest and most fascinating facts about the crazy world of casinos and gambling that you probably don’t know.

A woman received the first casino license in Las Vegas:

Not only were there male mobster pioneers in the Las Vegas casino business; Mayme Stocker received the first legitimate casino license in 1920 for the Northern Club. The local newspaper’s society pages routinely featured articles about Stocker, a devout wife and mother. Her husband, Harold, first refused to be affiliated with it, so she launched the casino under her own name and only offered five games. Those five games—stud poker, draw poker, lowball poker, 500, and bridge—were all permitted in Las Vegas at the time.

Casinos & Gambling

The World’s Gambling Capital Is Not Las Vegas:

The greatest gambling city in the world is Macau, the only Chinese area where it is acceptable to gamble in a casino. Forget Vegas; Macau’s casino revenues in 2012 outperformed Vegas five times over. In contrast to Vegas, where penny slots account for the majority of revenue, high rollers in Macau (75 percent!) place large wagers on table games in VIP areas.

You Can Ban Yourself From a Casino Voluntarily:

Several states allow you to prohibit yourself from entering casinos if your gambling addiction is out of control, making it illegal to set foot on the gaming floor. In Ohio, for instance, there is a program known as “Voluntary Exclusion” that enables gamblers to self-exclude for a year, five years, or even a lifetime. There is no way to remove your name from the registry once you decide to stop using tobacco permanently, so if you pick the lifetime ban, you better mean it.

A veteran of World War II won more than $25 million at slots:

Contrary to popular assumption, there are a select few occasions where slot machines offer better winnings than table games. Los Angeles — Elmer Sherman, a World War II veteran, won a staggering $4.6 million in 1989 from a slot machine at the Mirage, but he wasn’t happy with that amount of money. Elmer regarded hitting another significant jackpot as his “life’s desire.” When he won a stunning $21.1 million at the Cannery in 2005, his dream came true!

A roulette wheel’s numbers add up to 666:

It is hardly surprising that some well-known casino games have been given mystical characteristics because gambling and superstition go hand in hand. Every casino with a roulette wheel displays the biblical “Number of the Beast”: 666 is the result of adding all all the numbers on the wheel! The roulette wheel acquired the moniker “The Devil’s Wheel” as a result of the coincidence and gambling’s propensity for destroying lives.

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The tiniest casino in the world can be found in a London taxi’s back seat:

The so-called “World’s Smallest Casino” lacks even a physical location. With a gaming table, a dealer, a bar, and TV broadcasting sports, the Grosvenor Casino in London features a mobile casino that may be found in the back of a taxi. Those who donate to charity can ride the promotional ride for free to the casino or anyplace else in the city.

There used to be a casino for inmates in the Nevada State Prison:

Nevada’s gambling industry is so large that a casino operated inside the state penitentiary for 35 years. That’s correct; from 1932 until 1967, convicts in the “Bullpen,” a stone structure on the prison’s grounds in Carson City, could partake in blackjack, craps, poker, and even sports wagering. That year, a new warden from California closed it down, claiming that gambling was “degrading” to the inmates.

FedEx’s founder gambled in Las Vegas to save the business:

This is an encouraging tale for wannabe gamblers and small business owners: the FedEx founder turned his failing organization around by winning $27,000 in blackjack while gambling in Las Vegas! In 1973, Frederick Smith decided to risk everything by flying to Las Vegas with only $5,000 in the company’s coffers. Despite the fact that this is often bad advice for both investors and business owners, Smith’s risk paid off, enabling the company to last long enough to raise $11 million and eventually turn a profit in 1976.

The Monte Carlo Casino does not allow gambling by Monaco residents:

Many of you must have found it pretty weird; but this is actually true. If you’re not from Monaco, the fabled Monte-Carlo Casino in Monaco is a gambler’s dream. In the 1800s, Princess Caroline made it illegal for locals to gamble in casinos because she believed that foreigners should be solely responsible for revenue. The positive news Since Monaco uses casino revenue instead of income taxes, residents are exempt.

From “Crabs” comes “Craps”:

Why is the well-known dice game Craps in North American casinos called Craps? Language plus time equals nuts, which is a simple equation. According to historians, the classic British dice game Hazard is where it all began (such a better name). Rolling “snake eyes” were known as rolling “crabs” in Hazard (for some reason). Hazard was kept going by French settlers in New Orleans in the middle of the eighteenth century, but as time went on, a combination of French and English-speaking players and changes to the game’s rules slowly changed “crabs” into “craps” (for some reason), giving rise to a completely new game that eventually reduced Hazard to a mere memory. Cheers to craps!