If you’re keen to learn about the history of casinos, then you’ve come to the right place. Here are five historical facts that perhaps you didn’t know about casinos. Additionally, several other fun historic casino facts are mentioned further down.
Top 5 historic casino facts you probably never knew
Here are the top 5 historic casino facts from around the world that you probably never knew, from the biggest online casino wins and the biggest land-based casino wins, right the way back to the world’s first online casino, and more.
- Roulette and poker were invented in the 18th century
- The biggest ever online casino win was a whopping €19,429,358
- The biggest ever land-based casino win was just over US$38,000,000
- The world’s first slot machine was introduced in 1887
- The world’s first land-based casino originated in Italy
A closer look at these top 5 historic casino facts
Roulette was supposedly invented in the 18th century (although some say as far back as 1665 by a physicist, inventor, and mathematician named Blaise Pascal). It’s also a widely held belief that poker (known as ‘Poques’ at the time) was first played in New Orleans by French settlers, so you can credit the French with coming up with two of the most popular casino games ever made. If you want to learn about the history of poker or the history of roulette, there are lots of trusted websites out there today with plenty of detailed articles from trusted sources.
Ok, so online casinos are still a relatively new thing, but they are still important in the history and evolution of casinos. The first ever online casino launched in 1994, and since then, the single biggest win ever at an online casino was an impressive €19,429,358. The anonymous lucky winner landed this life-changing win in April 2021 while playing a famous online slot machine from Microgaming called Mega Moolah.
This same slot has also paid out several other similar big wins since it first arrived at online casinos more than 20 years ago. For example, in January 2019, it paid out a mouth-watering $20,057,734, and in September 2018, it paid out €18,915,721.
This leads us to the biggest ever land-based casino win. The biggest ever win from a single spin at a land-based casino was somewhere in the region of $40,000,000.00. The huge win from one lucky spin apparently occurred at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas. Similar big wins worth $20,000,000.00 to $30,000,000 or more have also happened at several other iconic Sin City casinos, such as The Mirage, the Excalibur, the Gold Coast Casino, and the Fremont Casino.
The world’s first mechanical slot machine (aka classic slot, 3-reel slot, fruit machine, or pokie, depending on which region of the world you come from) was made in 1887 by Charles Fell, and it was originally called the Liberty Bell. However, it took a few more years for Fell to perfect his machine, and the first Liberty Bells started arriving at land-based gaming venues in 1891.
Finally, it’s said that the world’s first casino popped up in Italy as far back as the 1600s. It’s where the word ‘casino’ originates. The word ‘casino’ stems from the word ‘casa,’ which means house – hence the popular saying ‘the house,’ or ‘the house always wins.’ Back then, casinos were not like the big casinos you can find today. In fact, they were more like social clubs. It’s also well-known that organized gambling can be dated as far back as 1638 in Venice. So, remember, you can credit the French with iconic games, such as Roulette and Poker, and the Italians with casinos.
Other top historic casino facts
Some of the other top historic casino facts that we also thought deserve mentioning are the following. One of the oldest poker games in the world is said to have lasted for an incredible eight years! Despite the fact that there’s very little evidence to back up this story, many people regard it as historical fact. The game supposedly got underway in a basement of an Arizona theatre in 1881 and wasn’t finished for another eight years, five months, and three days. The biggest ever casino in America covers a whopping 600,000 square feet, and it was originally opened in 2003. The following year, in 2004, a person from the United Kingdom apparently sold his house after splitting up with his girlfriend and took the £135,000 to Las Vegas to bet in all on red on the roulette wheel. Fortunately for the player, Ashley Revell, lady luck was on his side, and he ended up doubling his money, receiving £270,600. It was all recorded for a television show called Double or Nothing, and the footage of this incredible win can be found today on YouTube.