Playing with happiness seems as old as humanity itself. Profit or loss is decided –depending on the interpretation – by the gods or chance. Even in Greek mythology, Hercules played dice with a temple guard for a seductive woman. The history of casinos, on the other hand, is still quite young. You can comfortably enjoy different casino games online from your couch.
Time travel Casino
So let’s turn back time and end up in Venice almost 400 years ago. In the mysterious city with its branching canals and exuberant carnival, noble gentlemen were crying out for a refined pleasure. Already in the Middle Ages, gambling had been celebrated in the open air with official blessing.
But the leading circles were looking for more exclusive things. They opened the first public casino in Europe, the „Ridotto“, in 1638. It established itself in a wing of the venerable Palazzo Dandolo directly on the lagoon – once the seat of a powerful Doge family.
The desire for enjoyment of life and an oasis where a small fortune can be risked outside the business world were the inspiration for the founding of the casino. The idea quickly became a huge success, even if things weren’t as posh everywhere as in the state „Ridotto“. Soon there were more than 100 gambling houses in Venice. The authorities spoke up and granted the licenses. A lot of money circulated behind the walls.
Strict dress codes applied in the „Ridotto“. Only high-ranking people frequented the area. The card game „Basetta“, a mix of blackjack, poker, and gin rummy, was particularly popular. When strict moral guardians in the Signoria enforced the closure of Venice’s noblest casino in 1774, tourism – already an important source of income at that time – suffered severe losses.
The blow to gambling brought a drop in sales in the textile industry, gondoliers and innkeepers. Even sales of carnival masks collapsed. For this purpose, illegal new gambling dens were created in cafes and dungeons.
High Roller Dostoyevsky
With the revolution of 1789 in France, the casinos that had been established there were also closed. King Louis Philippe decreed the final end in 1837. Now gamblers from all over the world made pilgrimages to Germany. The great era of casinos began in Baden-Baden, Bad Homburg and Wiesbaden, in Bad Ems, Bad Nauheim and Bad Pyrmont.
The famous Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky processes his German casino experiences in the novel „The Gambler“. The Puritan Prussians were uncomfortable with the „Belle Epoque“ of gambling. After the founding of the German Empire in 1872, all German casinos were forced to close. Francois Blanc, who had led the casino in Bad Homburg to international importance, then brought the casino in Monte Carlo to its peak.
Meanwhile, casinos are flourishing all over the world. Roulette, blackjack, baccarat and poker variants are offered, among others. In addition, business is booming with slot machines, slot machines and other devices that ring, howl and rattle when coins are thrown out by the pound in a super series.
Casinos also move with the times. Some things have changed. Etiquette no longer plays the same role as it once did. However, traditional casinos still insist that the masters of creation may only try their luck with a tie and jacket. Sneakers are a no-go.
Typology of gambling
A fascinating chapter is the psychology of the players. Colin Mac-Gregor, who worked for many years as an inspector and card dealer in major casinos in South Africa and the Netherlands, studied the different characters for years. In his experience, professional gamblers perform inconspicuously.
Over a cup of tea or water, they sit at the roulette table and meticulously note down each number square on which the ball stops. Red or black, even or odd, everything is noted. The stakes for such professional gamblers are as low as the limit they set for themselves. Most are satisfied if they leave the casino a day with a sum of less than 100 euros.
There are also more nervous people who believe in series and their endings. If black falls five times, they bet on red. If black comes back, they stick to their color and increase the total to double. Trying to compensate for losses with all your might is daring. It is guaranteed that once Black fell 26 times in a row. All those who had bet on red again and again were shocked. „Some people don’t understand simple mathematics“, experts say. „With each new attempt, the odds are fifty-fifty.“
Of course, you also discover glamorous personalities in the casino. But the generosity of the big donors, who seem to be throwing their tokens around, can be deceiving. Those who are rich would like to stay. There is often neither recklessness nor madness behind the big performance, but strategy and the intention to get out in time at the first opportunity with a hefty profit. But the calculation doesn’t always work. The blow to gambling brought about a decline in sales in the textile industry, among gondoliers, and innkeepers. Even sales of carnival masks collapsed. For this purpose, illegal new gambling dens were created in cafes and dungeons.
