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Many of today’s modern casino games will be just the latest in a long line of gambling activities that date back to the earliest records of civilization. Gambling artifacts happen to be uncovered from ancient societies in China and Italy as well as in Egypt, where ivory dice dating to the period before 1500 B.C. have been discovered. More than 3000 years later, a more modernized pair of dice was being employed in private gaming halls throughout 18th century England in the earliest form of today’s popular game of craps.
Keno, another one of the earliest forms of gambling and one with some of the worst odds for the player, is said to have originated in ancient China during the Han Dynasty. The very first Chinese version of the game featured 120 characters drawn from a popular poem of the time. Although other forms of a lottery were played later in Europe, the introduction of Keno to the united states was made by Chinese sailors visiting San Francisco. The Americanized version used numbers rather than characters and 80 boxes rather than 120 in much the exact same form as is found in casinos today.
Early forms of playing cards dating back to the 9th century have also been found in China. But when playing cards began to be used later throughout Europe several of the intricate designs on the Asian variety were replaced with cards representing men of royalty. Not until the 1500s did a female break in to the designs in the event the French replaced among the Kings within their deck with a Queen. That was one of the first designs of the conventional 52 card deck that we still use today for some of the best casino games including poker and blackjack.
We may also thank the French for inventing another among the bastions of casino games, the game of roulette. The version of the original French wheel from 1842 had just one zero. And as the winnings generated by the single zero wheels were sufficient to launch the country of Monaco towards its fabulous wealth, the casinos in America felt they needed to add yet another zero to the wheel as a way to raise the house’s advantage. Today, any serious fan of online gambling roulette knows to search out the European wheel in place of the American wheel because of the higher odds for the player.
As with many of today’s modern casino games, the true beginnings of the game of baccarat are disputed. Most feel that the game originated in either France or Italy, but few doubt that the modern version of the game can be traced, once again, to the French. The game, known in France as Chemin de Fer was very popular among nobility within the 16th century through the 18th century it had become the most popular game along the French Riviera. Baccarat finally gained popularity within the USA when it was introduced at the Sands casino in Las Vegas in the late 1950s.
The fun and excitement in many of today’s modern casino games can be even more enjoyable when you become aware of the long and often colorful history behind numerous.
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