When the history of gambling is discussed, the modern meccas immediately spring to mind, such as the glittering towers of Las Vegas or the luxe casinos of Macau. Yet while many of these places benefit from the industry, they did not invent it. Below, we discuss three places that contributed to the modern gambling scene and they may not be the ones you think.
San Francisco
The slot machine is a staple of the casino. Its sight, sounds, and vibrancy give the casino its unique charm and appeal. Most people assume that they must have started in Las Vegas, due to its reputation as the capital of gambling. However, it was actually San Francisco that pioneered the slot machine.
It is now easy to discover amazing online slots. With features like wild symbols, free spins, and even live bonus rounds, they use state-of-the-art technology to continue to appeal to audiences. This is a far cry from the first slot machine, invented by Charles Fey in 1894. He took the idea from automatic poker machines, which played cards on rotating reels and paid out depending on the poker hands that appeared. He then developed it further, adding many of the features we find on modern online slots, such as immediate payouts, spinning reels, and winning pay lines.
The first video slot machine was the next stage of evolution for slot gaming. It was created by the Fortune Co Company based in Las Vegas and was then developed in California. A large Sony television screen was used as the monitor and it was soon rolled out onto the Las Vegas strip. Despite this, it was San Franciso that had the genesis idea for the machine and takes the credit.
Baden Baden
Blaise Pascal invented the first rudimentary roulette wheel in his pursuit of the perpetual motion machine, and two inventors named François and Louis Blanc added the ‘0’ sections. While there were multiple people who contributed to its creation, only one place can take credit for popularizing the roulette wheel: the German town of Baden Baden.
This spa town within the Black Forest region is home to the Kurhaus, a luxury casino built almost 200 years ago. At the time, its purpose was to capitalize on the influx of French gamblers coming across the borders to roll the dice. It quickly became a hotspot, even being described by actress Marlene Dietrich as the most beautiful casino on the planet. It may not have invented roulette, but it certainly popularized it and helped spread it worldwide.
Robstown, Texas
Legend has it that the frontier town of Robstown, Texas was the first place where the rules of Texas Hold’Em were decided and put into play. The game was then taken to the rest of the U.S. through the railroad network by travelers and workers. Quite how the rules came about there is still shrouded in mystery, though its position on a railroad crossroad helped its quick movement across the west.
While all these places have their name cemented in history, there are many more. Some places invented certain games or took them globally. However, the most popular casino games all owe a debt to these unique spots.
Featured image Credit: Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash