When the holiday season draws near, it drums up a lot of nostalgia. For all of us at Casino Knights Inc. it brings up memories of the holiday casino parties we’ve hosted in the last three and a half decades.
That got us thinking about the history of three extremely popular casino games. There are so many memories connected to roulette, craps and blackjack, but where did they begin? We let our curiosity get the best of us and here is what we discovered.
History of Roulette
Many people are surprised to find that roulette wasn’t created by a gambling man. Famed French mathematician Blaise Pascal designed the first roulette wheel in 1655. In fact, roulette is French for “little wheel”.
However, Pascal wasn’t trying to invent a new casino game. He was actually trying to defy the laws of physics by creating a perpetual motion machine that could keep moving without an energy source. Even though Pascal’s experiment failed, he still came out a winner since he’s now credited for getting the ball rolling on one of the world’s most popular games of chance. Pascal’s wheel was combined with the French board gameRoulette and casino history was born.
Roulette was a game largely played by European royalty in private gaming houses. For a couple hundred years the roulette wheel remained the same with the numbers 1-36. Then in 1842 there was finally a change in the game that gave the house an edge. That year brothers Francois and Lois Blanc added a zero to the wheel. They also started alternating the pocket colors in red and black.
The Blanc’s added the zero because the king of Monaco, Charles III, was opening a casino in Monte Carlo and planned to introduce roulette to the masses. But first he wanted to stack the odds in his favor. Today, the roulette wheel is synonymous with Monaco’s upscale gambling scene.
When roulette made its way to America in the mid-1800s the game underwent another change. That’s when the double zero showed up. The U.S.-version has had 38 pockets ever since.
History of Craps
Craps (dice) are so old historians aren’t quite sure where they originated. However, we do know they existed thousands of years ago in ancient Greece, Egypt and India.
The closest we can get to the origins of the casino game craps comes during a siege in 1125. While Sir William of Tyre and his men were waiting around for the people in Hazarth Castle to give up and surrender they played a dice game to pass the time. That game was named Hazard.
At that same time the Arabic dice game Al Zar is also said to have made its way to Europe. Some gambling historians believe this game was the basis for craps or at least the inspiration for Tyre’s game.
Jump ahead 500 years and Hazard is one of the most popular games in England. Others around Europe were also playing the game in the 1600s. To distinguish their game from others, the French renamed the game craps.
Both the English and French claim to have brought craps to the Americas during colonization. However, it should be noted this version of craps isn’t quite the same as the game we play today. John H. Winn is considered the grandfather of modern day craps. It wasn’t until 1907 that Mr. Winn decided to make some improvements. He added Don’t Pass bets and changed the layout of the table. With this new version, people could bet with or against the shooter.
History of Blackjack
Blackjack is easily one of the most common casino games in the world. As such, you’d think that it was created centuries ago along with other card games. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.
While there is no real certainty, historians agree that a version of blackjack was being played in France in the 1700s. Back then it was called vingt-et-un, or twenty-one in English. It’s believed that vingt-et-un was inspired by the Spanish card game Trente-un (31), which is mentioned in texts that date back to 1440.
Soon French immigrants brought vingt-et-un to America where it took off. In the earliest versions of the game, only the dealer was allowed to double. Bets could also be placed before each card was dealt. Somewhere along the way those rules changed.
Blackjack got its name in 1931 shortly after Nevada legalized gambling. Casinos began offering players a special deal to get more people at their tables. They offered 10-1 payouts if the player’s hand had a jack of spades or clubs and an ace of spades. Pretty soon people were calling the game blackjack instead of 21.
During this time there were also a few notable rule changes. The first being that players could see the dealer’s upcard before deciding what to do next. Dealers also began using a standard method for making decisions. Namely, the house rules state they should hit at 16 or under and stay with anything 17 and over.
No matter how they came to be, you can enjoy all the most popular casino games at a Casino Knights Inc. party! We help clients create memorable events that are fun for everyone because no actual gambling is involved. Call us today to schedule a private party, corporate mixer or casino fundraising event
Original Source: https://casinoknightsinc.com/casino-101/favorite-casino-game-come/
