Throughout history, human beings have always been interested in gambling, either in the arena selecting the winner of a gladiatorial battle or betting on who will achieve the highest number after rolling the dice. If we go back in time thousands of years, we see the transformations that casinos have undergone have shaped the type of casinos that we know today and the preferences of blackjack and roulette that we play in our modern and online casinos. Here at Poker Fun Times Casino, we are passionate about the evolution of casinos, keep on reading to travel back in time in the world of unique and exciting entertainment.
 
The birth of casinos as we know them
Casinos have always been a constant in history where members from all ages enjoyed gambling. First casino games were registered in China around 2300 a. C. Also, the die in ancient Egypt dates from 1500 d. C approximately. Trying to define the exact time period in which gambling games were invented is almost impossible, but we can know when the first official casino was founded.
 
Casino Di Venezia
It was not until the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century that the word “casino” was officially coined. At this time, the casino construction boom began, especially in the European continent. Some German cities, such as Baden-Baden and Wiesbaden, along with the glamorous Monte Carlo, began to build extravagant casinos that were adapted to the elite players of the time. Many of them looked more like a palace than a simple building meant to play cards.
 
However, the panorama on the other side of the pond was much less extravagant. Casinos began to exist after the birth of the city of Las Vegas. Until then, games of chance were played in the old taverns. But it can be said that they were not exactly the most welcoming places for novice players like us.
 
The boom of the city of lights
It would be absurd not to mention the city of Las Vegas when telling the story of the casinos, right? This metropolis built in the middle of the desert attracts thousands of visitors every year who travel to Las Vegas to enjoy the endless attractions it offers and compete to win money in blackjack and roulette.
 
And how did the gritty plains of Nevada manage to dominate the global casino scene? It all started in 1905. A group of railroad workers built the connection between Las Vegas and the Pacific coast, which passed through large cities such as Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. Workers needed a shelter to stay after endless working days in construction and, by then, before you could finish the phrase “Do you want us to throw a game of cards?” games had already expanded by the city.
 
Games of chance
Between 1910 and 1931, participating in gambling was illegal in the state of Nevada. However, in a time of clandestine bars and prohibitions, there was no one to stop these fervent players. Anywhere you could find a game table, from basements to restaurant kitchens, so players could clear their minds after a long day of work.
 
The popularity of these casinos was growing so much that, when the state legalised gambling once again, Las Vegas had already become the darkest point of organized casino games and even crime.
 
Although the Golden Gate was the first legitimate casino that was built in the city, it was in 1941 when the first tourist leisure complex in the city was built: The Vegas Ranch. Never before had it been seen something like: swimming pools, facilities for horse riding and, of course, casino games in the same building. The first casino in Las Vegas had two blackjack tables, a table to play craps, a roulette wheel and around 70 slot machines, becoming the wick that started the boom of the city of sin and games
 
Mafia paradise
The city of Las Vegas began to flourish after the Second World War. This resurgence attracted the attention of the pettiest groups of men in the United States: the mafia. It is rumoured that even the famous Al Capone considered this city to build its own resort with casino. However, his plans never materialised. Las Vegas was a “free” city for mobsters until the well-known Bugsy Siegel wanted to get his hands on it.
 
The Flamingo
In 1946 The Flamingo was founded, a tourist resort inspired by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. Siegel had the backing of money from the drug of Meyer Lansky, a famous East Coast gangster who gave his approval to the creation of a hotel and casino that was much more elegant than El Rancho. But everyone knows that, in the purest style of the mafia, when something goes wrong, someone must pay the consequences. And that’s what happened to Siegel. Bosses of the mafia forced him to advance the opening of the Flamingo.
 
After Siegel was murdered in 1947, his legacy remained alive in Las Vegas. With the money of the Mafiosi, they contributed to the construction of the city of Las Vegas, converting it into the world capital of the casinos. Iconic hotels such as the Sands, the New Frontier or the Sapokehara were built just after his death. In the 1950s, the Outfit of Chicago arrived in the city and, with the help of the mafia families of New York City, took over the power of the city and turned it into a haven for gangsters. Families from all corners of the United States signed agreements on the actions that each of them would have in their casinos. It was difficult to know who was the owner and what property. But, in any case, the mafia was involved in everything: nothing escaped their control.
 
The mafia also made it easy for big stars like Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley to visit the casinos. Around 1954, eight million tourists visited Las Vegas every year to take a seat at the poker and blackjack tables.
 
Casinos nowadays
Now casinos have little to no connection with mafias and they have established as proper businesses in the world. Id you are looking for a great casino in Melbourne to have some fun and forget about problems, you can visit Poker Times Fun Casino.