History of Roulette |
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Roulette history is hard to come by because the origin of roulette is lost, and there was likely some form of a wheel based game going back almost as far as the origin of the wheel itself. There are stories that the game was invented in China and brought to Europe by traders who were trading with the Chinese. Several early versions of a wheel and spinning ball were invented in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe. The first games that we would recognize as modern roulette were introduced in Paris casinos around the end of the 18th century. This game contained all of the features that we have today with the one exception, the single zero was colored red while the double zero was colored black. This led to some confusion for players and the color green was introduced for the zero and double zero to alleviate the confusion.
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History of Poker |
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The game of poker is one of the best-known and most popular card games in North America. In the U.S. it became exceedingly popular in the mid 1830’s, originally spreading from the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to the east coast via the railroads. The game has remained the same for many years; the last significant change was the introduction of the jokers as wildcards in around 1875.
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History of Keno |
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The origins of keno are a bit of a mystery, but there are a few stories floating around out there. What’s the truth? Sadly, as with all history, the truth is a matter of opinion. Apparently ancient Chinese scrolls indicate that Cheung Leung of the Han Dynasty introduced a game similar to keno around 200 BC. Cheung’s city was at war for several years and was beginning to run out of supplies. Rumor has it that the citizens of his city refused to contribute any more to the war fund, so Cheung created a game of chance to produce revenue for his army.
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History of Craps |
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There are several theories on the history of Craps. One take is that in ancient times rolling of bones was done to divine the will of the gods, and that from this evolved both dice and various dice games (including Craps). Another take has the game evolving from an early Arab game passed through England, France and North America. |
History of Baccarat |
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The actual origin of baccarat is lost in history, however some historians claim that there is no reliable record of the game before the middle of the nineteenth century, and the game originated in Italy. The game is thought to be a spin-off of the French game vingt-et-un (twenty-one), the game we know as blackjack. It is similar in that the goal is to get as close as possible to a set number without exceeding it. |
History of Black Jack |
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The origin of Black Jack is still being disputed, but it’s believed to have derived from other French games such as “chemin de fer” and “French Ferme”. Black Jack appeared in French casinos around the 1700, where it was called “vingt-et-un” (“twenty one”), and has been played in the U.S. since the 1800’s. The game of Black Jack got its name from the following rule – if a player got a Jack of Spades and an Ace of Spades as the first two he was additionally rewarded.
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