The origin of
casino dates back in 1626 in Venice where it first started. A
casino was often called “the house”, which acted as banker to cover all bets made by players. It paid all winning stakes and kept losses. In the past, if you bet in a
casino, it was called, “playing against the house.”
Casino gambling in the past has been done between individuals but it has evolved since then and became a big time game.
In the early part of the 18th century spa resorts were famous gambling locations for the aristocracy. It was in 1704 when Richard ‘Beau’ Nash, a Master of Ceremonies at Bath, introduced gambling as a means of attracting tourists to the town.
Being the organizer of social gatherings gave him the edge to introduce a way to attract tourists during winter months. Roly-poly was played on the gaming tables at the Pump House but when it was banned the even odd was introduced and it was played until 1745. Even odd is a game where odd and even numbers were used for players to choose from. Up to this day, odd-even is still played in casinos.
The gaming business was soon banned in England which resulted in players travelling to other European spa resorts. Two of the oldest casinos in Europe are the Baden Baden Casino in Germany, opened in 1745 by Edouard Benazet and the casino at Spa in Belgium established by the Prince Bishop of Liege in 1762.
In the middle of 1800, Monte Carlo Casino became the favorite hangout of the rich and the famous. This was followed by the legalization of gaming by the French government.
Casinos became one of the stable businesses in the United States of America in the early 1800s. As the railroad was constructed during the California Gold Rush and the Nevada Silver era, the gaming business prospered too.
It was Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, a gangster, who first introduced casino in Las Vegas by putting up the Flamingo casino. This did not materialize however but others saw the potential of Las Vegas in the gaming business and they invested in casinos.
The Desert Inn Casino was opened in 1950. The Sands Casino opened in 1952. The Dunes and the Riviera opened in 1955. And in 1965, the senate legislation was introduced and corporations were allowed to own casinos.
Gaming business boomed in Las Vegas making it a gambling centre for those who could afford to burn money and have fun. In 2004, Las Vegas had made $6.8 billion in gaming revenue. A shocking 38 million visitors in Las Vegas helped generate this huge amount of money.
Casinos have since then boomed and legalized in many parts of the world. In the Philippines alone, there are several casinos operating in hotels and other establishments. Casinos are used to attract guests in hotels and resorts and tourists in the country. Despite some negative comments from the Catholic Church about gambling being against religious morals, gambling still thrives and many people still engage in the addictive vice.
