Despite the absurdly huge popularity of casino gambling in the 21st century, something that has been buoyed by the recent online casino explosion of the last two decades, it is surprising to realise that the first casino in the world was only established in the 16th century. Before then gambling occupied a very shady legal territory, with most gambling establishments being somewhat illegal, but still massively popular.
The Venetian council decided to establish the world’s first genuinely legitimate casino back in the 1500s, and since then these gambling meccas have slowly spread across the world. Nowadays you can find a casino pretty much anywhere, and even if not there are thousands available online. But what are the most popular casino games? We suggest you read on to find out…
Slots
It wasn’t until the late 1800s that a Californian man called Charles D. Fey invented the world’s first commercially viable slot machine, and in the century or so afterwards they have become the No. 1 casino gambling games in the world. Even before the emergence of online slots slot machines were amongst the most popular things to play in casinos, however after this technological breakthrough they became outrageously popular.
Playing slots is incredibly simple too, and this goes a long way in explaining their rampant success. All you really have to do is place a bet and spin the reels, with winning symbol combinations granting you a variety of prizes if you are lucky enough to encounter them.
Poker
Out of all the various casino gambling games it is poker that could well be the most famous, mainly because of its representation in countless films such as the James Bond Casino Royale instalment, or films like Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. Poker remains incredibly popular, however it is normally played by more experienced gamblers as the game requires a lot more skill than most.
This is why most of the high stakes casino tournaments operate around the game of poker rather than things like roulette or blackjack, there is just a lot more skill involved. Moreover, poker is one of the only casino games that gamblers play against each other, rather than against the dealer.
Roulette
Roulette burst onto the scene during the early 1800s, and it very quickly resulted in the massive proliferation of huge super casinos across Europe. Nobody had seen anything like it when it first came about, and its inherently dynamic and exciting nature took the world by storm.
In order to play roulette you must first place a bet (either one a single number of group of odds or evens), and then hope that the ball lands where you would like it too as the wheel spins.
Blackjack
Blackjack is the oldest known gambling game still played today, with written evidence of it appearing in stories by the 16th century writer Miguel de Cervantes. It also has the best casino odds of any other game, which goes a long way in explaining why it is so popular.