gambling card games

Gambling casinos are establishments that provide accommodation for individuals to engage in gambling activities as well as to entertain themselves through concerts, sporting events and stand-up comedy, among many others. These establishments were created to keep gambling off the streets and to be able to control some individuals from taking advantage of those who are into betting and taking chances. These include card games such as poker and black jack, horse racing and lottery to name a few. The amount of betting may start from a very small amount perhaps a dime to a dollar but can rise to thousands of dollars.

The origin of gambling can be traced back to the Chinese in 2300 BC but it was believed that every society had its own form of gambling during the ancient times. Dice are considered to be the oldest form of gambling which were originally used for fortune telling in ancient Egypt. These were made of bones and teeth of animals while the shape of dice we know today was created in Korea and used in the Buddhist game called Promotion. Subsequently games using dice were brought and developed in different countries such as Rome where even children were taught to gamble and throw dice.

Another integral part of gambling similar to the dice is the deck of playing cards. Its origins can be traced back from the Chinese Turkestan in the 11th century but it was the French who were credited for the invention of the playing cards in 1387. These already had the suits we know from the playing cards of today which are the spade, club, heart and diamond. Johann Gutenberg of Germany was the first to print a full deck of cards in 1440.

Gambling casinos, on the other hand, began in Europe where the term casino meant a small villa or summerhouse which was usually built on the grounds of large Italian homes or palaces. Subsequently, in the 1600s different forms of gambling found their way in the United States through immigrants who introduced various kinds of games. In the 19th century public buildings where gambling and sports took place were called casinos as well as riverboats on the waters of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in early 1800s.

Gambling casinos became illegal due to professional gamblers who resort to cheating to make money. This made gambling in general immoral and professional gamblers were blamed for curtailing the economic growth and endangering the streets because of numerous crimes they committed. However, this did not stop gambling casinos to go underground and gaming operations for organized crimes were created. The 20th century witnessed the building of the first of many casinos in Nevada which were believed to be financed by mobsters such as the Flamingo in Las Vegas which was opened by known New York mobster, Bugsy Siegel in 1947.

In subsequent years gambling casinos, even though tinged with concerns on the morality of gaming and betting, were legalized in different states such as New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Monte Carlo among others. The reason leading to the legalization of gambling casinos was to help revitalize the economy of different states and cities.