Thanks to the Western media, casino houses have managed to establish themselves as a place of glamor and class. From Danny Ocean pulling one of cinema’s greatest heists in Ocean’s 11 to Daniel Craig’s 007 saving the world through a game of poker, the world of casinos has managed to grow.
It’s, therefore, no surprise that cities like Macau and Las Vegas draw vast amounts of visitors yearly. Even online casinos are a big deal now, with financial analysts forecasting the industry to have a market size of $92.9 billion by 2023.
Many gambling houses now offer online access to different classical casino games like roulette, blackjack, or poker. You can play these casino games at FanDuel Casino or any other casino of your choice.
Interesting Facts You Probably Don’t Know About Casinos
Casinos have a vast history, and there are many exciting things about them. You probably know a lot about them already, but regardless of what you think you know about casinos, there are a lot of amazing facts you probably didn’t know.
In this article, we will share some insane things you probably didn’t know about casinos. Let’s get started!
1. Monte Carlo Casino Is Not Open To Monaco Citizens
Monte Carlo Casino is one of the world’s most popular casinos. Located in Monaco, millions of people from around the world come to try their luck at this casino. However, you probably didn’t know before now that this casino is open to people from anywhere else in the world, except its citizens.
The idea of opening the Monte Carlo Casino is credited to Princess Caroline. She was said to have mooted the idea of this casino to save the House of Grimaldi from going bankrupt. She also decreed a law preventing her people from playing. A century has passed since the law and her demise, yet the people of Monaco are still not allowed into Monte Carlo.
A Monegasque gambler will have to travel out of the country before he can gamble.
2. Someone Lost $2.5 Million In 3 Minutes Playing Roulette
Everyone goes to the casino with dreams of cashing out big, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Sometimes people end up losing so much and so fast.
Robert Maxwell is a perfect example. The late British media mogul was known for his frequent visits to casino houses. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t much of a lucky guy. While at the Les Ambassadeurs Casino in Mayfair, London, he gambled $2.5 million on three different roulette wheels at a time and lost it all.
3. Harry Kakavas Sued A Casino For Not Stopping Him From Gambling
There are times when you hit a bad streak, and you can’t just stop because you feel that the next game will end your bad run. Well, this was the case of Harry Kakavas, only that his bad streak lasted a year and cost him $1.5 billion.
The former real estate mogul realized his bad luck too late and decided to sue the casino house. He believed the casino lured him with gifts worth $50,000, trips on private jets, and many incentives said to be worth over $10 million. The Australian believed that the casino house used the fact that he was a gambling addict to exploit him.
He eventually lost the case and ended up with a massive list of debtors and a very happy casino house. The court made it clear that it won’t protect gamblers. If you choose to go on that path, you will have to face everything that comes with it.
4. The Biggest Casino Win Yet Is $36.9 Million
Casinos are not always the bad guys; some gamblers have won incredibly. One of those gamblers is an unnamed LA software engineer who won over $36.9 million. He won it playing Megabucks at the Excalibur Casino in Los Angeles.
As expected, he asked to remain anonymous, and no one has been able to figure out his identity or break his record since. It’s been over 15 years.
Also, the biggest win from the slot machine came in 2013 when a Finnish gambler won a total of £17.6 million. In the UK, Jonathan Heywood became famous after winning a whopping £13.2 million from playing Mega Moolah, and guess what, he only played with 25 pence. He holds the record for the highest slot machine wins in the UK.
5. You Can Ban Yourself From Entering a Casino
One of the biggest issues of gambling is addiction. Some people fall too deep into it and end up not coming back. One more game turns to a dozen and then a hundred. Next, you know, you are spending nights trying to recoup lost funds.
In a bid to stop yourself from falling into this hole, you can voluntarily ban yourself from walking into any casino. Many states in America have these laws, and when you sign them, you can be arrested for walking into a casino. It becomes illegal for you.
This is usually for life, so you should be careful before making this decision.
6. Casinos Make The Most From Penny Slots
The little drops that make the ocean are words every casino owner will say. People generally believe that casinos earn the majority of their earnings from millionaires losing heavy bets, but in reality, they make more from penny slots.
‘Let me try my luck with a penny’ is a common statement in many casino houses, and it turns out that millions of people are also trying their luck. 80% of the gambling revenue generated is from slots.
7. Las Vegas Is Not The Casino Capital
Thanks to the Western media, the first thing that comes to people’s minds when they hear about casinos is Las Vegas. Its portrayal in Hollywood movies has made the city look like the capital of gambling, but it isn’t.
The world’s gambling capital is Macau – the only city in China where gambling is legal. While the city might not be as popular as Las Vegas, the big boys in gambling go there.
To further bolster the point, Macau’s gambling revenue was ten times that of Las Vegas in 2013 according to Statista. Casinos in Macau also make most of their earnings from table games and VIP poker. Unlike casinos in Las Vegas, which relies heavily on slots.
8. A Woman Was The First To Get A Casino License In Las Vegas
The first person to own a casino license in Las Vegas was a woman, a mother, and a wife to a husband who wanted nothing to do with it.
Her name was Mayme Stocker, and in 1920 she got a license for the Northern Club Stocker. The casino began to gain popularity pushing others to get licensed and build Las Vegas into the gambling city it is today. Her husband eventually saw the light and decided to help her run the casino.
The Bottom Line
There are several other things about casinos you still don’t know, like how gambling addicts wear adult diapers, so they don’t have to leave the table or how a prison in Nevada used to have a casino for its inmates. But we will stop here, for now. We hope you had a great time reading this.
