20 More Facts You Didn’t Know About Casinos and Gambling

How much do you know about casinos? Here, I’m sharing 20 facts about casinos and gambling that you might not know about.

There’s some built-in mystery about casinos, and these establishments definitely feel like mini-cities within themselves.

The American gambling and casino industry was actually pushed into the mainstream by mobs. That known fact has intrigued us from the beginning.

Here are 20 facts you might not know about.

1 – Nevada State Prison Had a Casino

Nevada likes gambling so much that when they legalized gambling in 1931, the prison officials ran with it. They allowed the prisoners to run their own casino called The Bullpen. It was a successful casino for 35 years until it was shut down in 1967.

2– The Sandwich Was Invented at a Casino

The legend goes something to this effect: John Montagu (4th Earl of Sandwich) was an avid gambler. In 1765, he asked his servants to bring him some meat between two slices of bread.

He didn’t want to leave the gambling table he was playing at to eat. Legend says this is where our beloved sandwich was invented, a casino.

It turns out he didn’t enjoy gambling much. But the story caught on, and Earl Montagu ran with it. He gave the sandwich its name.

It’s probably more likely that people had been eating bread with meat between the slices for centuries. We just have John to thank for naming it.

3 – The World’s Smallest Casino Is in a London Cab

The tiny casino on wheels is owned by Grosvenor Casino in Birmingham, England. You can play the classic table games with a drink in your hand. There is even a live dealer in the cab with you.

The tiny casino gives riders free fare from anywhere in Birmingham to their land-based casino. Suppose you want to take the cab without visiting their flagship casino, you can donate to Carers Trust the casino’s chosen charity.

4 – The Gambling Capital of the World Is Not Las Vegas

Sorry, Vegas, it’s not you. Macau is the largest gambling city in the world. While Vegas makes most of its profits on cheap slots, the casinos in Macau make their money on high rollers worldwide.

As of 2019, Macau makes four times the annual profits of Vegas. Macau clocks in around $28 billion in annual revenue, while Vegas does nearly $7 billion.

5 – 666 is the Sum Total of the Numbers on a Roulette Wheel

We all know that gambling and superstitions are best friends. The most notorious number of the devil is 666. This little coincidence had given the nickname “The Devil Wheel.”

6 – European Roulette Is Easier to Win Than American Roulette

Gamblers that play American Roulette are going to have a harder time winning. The game’s origins are French. The original game had only 37 possible slots for the ball to land.

Americans have added an extra slot, making the total possible slots 38. The additional slot is “00.” It could be worse for gamblers. For a short time in 1866, there was even another slot displaying an American Eagle. This decreased player’s odds even further and increased the house edge.

7 – No, Casinos Don’t Pump Oxygen Into Their Ventilation Systems

You’ve probably heard that casinos pump oxygen into the air on the casino floor. This myth is not only untrue, but it would be a felony.

Adding oxygen to the air where people are most likely smoking is a significant fire hazard.

The myth got started in the book Fool’s Die by Mario Puzo, the author of The Godfather. In the fictional casino, Xanadu, they pumped oxygen into the casino. The narrative spread.

8 – The Lottery Is Illegal in Nevada

The State of Nevada has outlawed lotteries. This is mostly because of the competition from the casinos. The state portrays it as protecting its casino industry.

I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s driven by the casino interests. They are a significant tax contributor to the state.

9 – EMTs Are Called Less Often to Non-Smoking Casinos

The University of California San Francisco found that Colorado casinos saw a 20% drop in the need to call EMTs and ambulances when smoking was outlawed on casino floors in 2008.

Casinos are one of the last socially-acceptable places to smoke indoors. I think this goes to show that cigarettes are just plain bad for you and those around you.

10 – Gambling Saved FedEx From Bankruptcy

In 1973, the founder of FedEx, Fredrick Smith, had only $5,000 in his struggling delivery company’s bank account. He owed around $24,000.00 to his fuel provider.

As we know, package delivery companies need gas for their fleets. So, what did Smith do? He withdrew every penny the company had, got a plane to Vegas, and hoped he could turn around its future at the blackjack tables.

Fredrick turned that $5,000 into $27,000 playing blackjack. This would give his fledgling company the money they needed to survive. FedEx raised 11 million in much-needed capital and made its first profits three years later in 1976.

This is the gambling story we all need right now. Good job, Fred.

11 – Casino de Monte-Carlo Doesn’t Allow Locals to Gamble

This is a quirkier one that might win your next trivia night. The casino decided in the 1880s that the citizens of Monte Carlo would be outlawed from playing in its founding casino.

The government of Monaco wanted the profits to come from foreigners. Citizens of Monte Carlo don’t pay income taxes since the casinos make so much tax profit for the government.

12 – The First Slot Machine Was in San Fransisco

Charles Fey, a San Francisco mechanic, designed and built the first modern-day slot machine in 1895. His idea was to give his customers something to do while waiting for their cars to be repaired.

The slot machine earned so much popularity that Vegas casinos started buying them for their patrons. At the same time, they waited for a gambling table to be freed up.

It should be noted that there were previous versions of the slot machines, but they were not nearly as popular.

13 – Slot Machines Didn’t Always Give You Money

The first slot machines didn’t represent the same machines we know today. They had a complicated card and number system that was hard for people to understand.

These slot machines usually cost around a nickel to play. Considering this was the late 1800s, that was extremely expensive.

The reels had the classic fruit symbols that we all know. Except with these machines, the fruit determined what kind of gum or tokens you received. The gum was fruit-flavored. The tokens were meant to be used at the establishment’s cigars or drinks.

14 – Penny Slots Are Most Profitable for Casinos

The “penny slots” make the most money than any other game (table or machine). That is surprising because they cost so little. In reality, penny lots are deceitful because players tend to bet a lot more than a penny.

The casinos attributed this to the housing bubble of the late 2000s when a penny slot was all that majority of Americans could afford. Some casinos contribute penny slots to over 70% of their profits.

15 – A Woman Received the First Casino License in Vegas

Women aren’t as prominent in gambling as men. When Las Vegas began issuing legal casino licenses, the first one went to Mayme Stocker in 1920. This made her Northern Club casino the first legal casino in America’s gambling Mecca.

Ironically, she was a famous socialite that was written about repeatedly in the Las Vegas paper. She is remembered as a savvy businesswoman as well as a devoted mother and doting wife. Women really can have it all. Move over, boys!

16 – Gambling Is Mostly Illegal in Japan

Japan has had a long-standing law against gambling in the country. The Japanese have found a workaround.

Pachinko halls are legal. Pachinko is a slot machine-like game that you earn little metal spheres for winning. These balls can be traded in for prizes at the pachinko hall.

This is similar to arcades where you can trade your tickets in for their in-house prizes. Okay, but is that gambling? No, except players can ask the prize desk for unique prize coins that can be traded separately. These special tokens are traded in for cash at a different location run by the Japanese government.

Necessity is the mother of invention. That’s a sneaky one, Japan, bravo.

17 – Bingo Brought Us Native Casinos

Native Tribes hold a more significant market share of the casino industry every year. There are only five states in the US that don’t have tribal casinos.

The Indian Gambling Regulation Act (IGRA) was passed in the late 1980s. There was a bingo hall that was making some significant money on Native lands (reservation land).

Local Southern California governments were against this because it was illegal for there to be casinos in California. But Native American tribes have long been recognized as sovereign nations since the late 1880s.

The local, state, or American federal government is not allowed to impede their laws and jurisdiction. Regardless, the case went to the Supreme Court, and President Reagan signed the IGRA. Thanks, bingo!

18 – Casino Dealers Must Show Their Hands to a Camera

You know the classic move. A dealer is leaving the table for a break or shift change. They usually show (what you assume is the players) their palms then “dust” them off.

That’s not for you, silly. It’s to show the casino’s security cameras that they don’t have anything in their hands when leaving the table.

This is called “clearing your hands.” It’s a security measure to keep dealers from stealing chips off the table or taking a specific card.

19 – You Can Ban Yourself From Casinos

Yup, you read that right. An individual can ban themselves from a casino. This makes it a crime to enter that casino again.

This law was enacted so that problem gamblers can let the casino know they shouldn’t be gambling. Self-imposed deterrents have been proven to work.

The problem gambler can usually set how long the ban lasts. Ohio gives problem gamblers the option of one-, five-, or 10-year self-imposed bans.

20 – Card Counting Confusion

There is no federal, state, or local law in America that makes card counting illegal at casinos. The movie Rainman made card counting look like magic that only a few can do. It’s actually just basic math and practice.

You’ll get into big trouble if the casino you’re playing blackjack in finds out you’re counting cards. Most casinos will give you a swift boot out the door if you’re caught counting cards.

Conclusion

I hope you learned some new things about gambling, as well as had some myths cleared up. Maybe bookmark this page to refer to it when you need to lay down some gambling and casino knowledge!