Posts tagged History
The History Behind the Bellagio Hotel and Casino
Apr 29th
The Bellagio is an triple-A Five-Diamond rated luxury hotel and casino in Las Vegas, located on The Strip. MGM Mirage holds ownership of this luxurious hotel and casino, and it was built on the site of the demolished Dunes hotel and casino.
Inspired by the Lake Como resort of Bellagio in Italy, Vegas’ Bellagio is famed for its elegance. One of the most notable features of the Bellagio is an 8-acre artificial lake between the hotel and the Strip, which holds the famous Fountains of Bellagio. The Bellagio has been one of Vegas’ most famous resorts since its inception. It employs approximately 10,000 people, and is visited by millions each year.
The Bellagio was conceived by Steve Wynn, an American casino resort developer, and built by his company, Mirage Resorts, Inc. Wynn is often considered as the man who changed Vegas. In 1989, his first major Strip casino, The Mirage, opened, setting a new standard in Vegas, making immediate history.
With his second project, the 1993 Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Wynn proved once again that his vision for Vegas was different. The $450 million dollar resort was another instant smash with the public.
Wynn decided to take his standards for luxury a step further with Bellagio. Costing $1.6 billion, the Bellagio is credited with starting a new spree of luxurious developments in Las Vegas.
The former ground of the Bellagio, The Dunes Hotel, was a Las Vegas hotel and casino that operated from May 23rd, 1955 to January 26th, 1993. It was the tenth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip.
Although the Dunes opened to much fanfare, it seemed doomed from the start. Other casinos in Vegas, such as the Sands Hotel, lent its executives to help out. Dunes execs were often borrowing money to stay in operation, and even recruiting celebrities, such as Frank Sinatra, who lent a famous surprise appearance dressed as a sultan.
In 1957, as a last desperate gasp to keep the casino open, the Dunes became the first hotel/casino in Nevada to offer a topless show, called Minsky’s Follies. The Dunes set records for attendance shortly after.
The success would be short-lived, and financial investor, Masoa Nangaku of Japan would purchase the Dunes for $155 million, but could not return on the investment.
In one of the biggest Vegas losses ever, Nangaku sold the Dunes to Steve Wynn’s company, Mirage Resorts, for $75 million in 1992. In 1993, the Dunes closed up shop for good, and on October 29th, Wynn brought the Dunes down and started the implosion (process of which explosives are systematically placed to bring a tall building down on itself) trend of Vegas.
With the destruction of the Dunes, Vegas celebrated the end of an era. The Dunes was originally built and controlled by the mafia, having been constructed from Teamsters’ pension funds. When the construction of the Bellagio began in 1994, workers found four bags of Dunes casino chips buried at the site.
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Casino History
Sep 24th
The exact origin of gambling still remain unknown. The Chinese recorded the first official account of this in 2300 B.C., but it is believed that activity of gambling in any kind, has been seen in almost every society of human history. From the Ancient Greeks, to Caesar’s Rome, Napoleon’s France to the American Civil War has there occurred gambling activities in a way or another. One of the first real casinos however was the CasinO di Venezia, which was founded in Venice around 1638, and is still around today.
Many games that we combine with a casino are descendants of previous games. The French of the sixteenth century became adhesive at the Egyptian game of roulette, while Napoleon took interest in the card game “vingt-et-un” more known as Blackjack or 21. The English however developed a game called hazard, the foundation of todays popular dice throwing game craps. Poker games are believed to have originated from a mix of ancient influences including Persian, Italian, and English games of chance. Further more, the French included betting techniques, and the concept of bluffing developed by the British.
In American history thought, the early casinos were originally known as saloons. The creation of the saloons was heavily influenced by the four major cities New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco and St. Louis. Here travellers could find people to talk with, drink with, and gamble with. During the 20th century in America, gambling became outlawed and banned. However, in gambling was legalized throughout the sate of Nevada, and Las Vegas in 1931. In 1978, New Jersey allowed gambling in Atlantic City, which now is Americas second largest gambling city. Other regional places for gambling in the U.S. are Mississippi, Tunica Resorts and in the Gulf Coast region around Biloxi.
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History of Online Casino
Sep 2nd
Online casino is a derivation of the land-based traditional casino, also known as virtual casinos or gambling sites and providing diverse games or a single one depending on the website operation, franchise, etc. The online casino offers generally better odds than land-based casinos for games such as slot machines where the chances of winning are regulated by the house, the so-called house advantage.
On August 18, 1995 the world’s first online casino debuted, Internet Casinos, Inc. (ICI) operating with 18 different casino games and for the first time offering also online access to the National Indian Lottery. However, since the early days ICI operates out of the Turks and Caicos Islands, outside the United States to avoid government prosecution.
Also, in the mid 90’s, two other online casino’s made their debut claiming to be the first; The Gaming Club and Intertops casino and sports book, which in fact launched the first online sports book before Internet Casinos, Inc.. Building a reputable service with reliable payouts, high security, efficient customer support, and serving a large number of customers excited with this new gambling modality, the online casino succeeded.
The spring of 1996 brought into the gambling scene a second sports book planning to launch an online casino as they did. The Interactive Gaming & Communications Corp. (SBET), soon becoming a publicly traded company listed on NASDAQ. The financial success of this online casino is not only the internet, but also the acceptance of bettors’ sports wagers via telephone calls to Antigua on a toll free line via satellite.
Due the American gambling laws of regulations, the online casino industry has been developed mainly from the Caribbean Islands nations, as well as from Asian and European countries where even governments have also entered the business holding their own gambling sites, like Liechtenstein’s government operating an online international lottery, not only in German but in six different languages to drive international traffic.
Atlantis, was the first online casino based in Great Britain and licensed by the Isle of Man, an inspirational fact that made Sol Kerzner, its owner, develop a new concept in online gambling; the thematic online casino.
Today, this online casino has become one of a kind offering from five-figure slots payouts and progressives, offering free trips to Atlantis, the Paradise Island in Bahamas, and property of Mr. Kerzner. Atlantis was also the first casino recognizing the importance of players introducing the VIP program, exclusive for London Club’s Members.
According to Rolling Good Times Online, a popular gambling magazine, currently there are 452 gambling-related sites on the internet with thousands of subsidiaries, affiliates, franchises and co-branded sites, and the overall market for online gambling is estimated at approximately $49 billion worldwide on average.
Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She writes about sports games and entertainment. For Online Casino safe list, visit http://www.casinosafelist.com.
The History of Gambling
Aug 17th
Playing casino games stays very popular since the beginning of time. The history of gambling goes back to the ancient times and there are much archaeological evidence that gambling was present in all advanced societies of the past: Greek, Egypt, India, China, Roma, etc. Numerous artifacts like dice, inscriptions of game rules and others were found all over the world. Some of them have been dated back to 2300 B.C. But it was the 14th century AD when gambling was considered to be against the law. King Henry VIII of England has banned gambling when he found out that his soldiers were spending more time playing than actually working.
The practice of paper money shuffling in ancient China became the predecessor of the modern game we know as blackjack. The practice has evolved into card playing, which was borrowed by the Mameluke Empire. Mamelukes, being Muslims used various designs somewhat reminiscent of famous Muslim carpets, to decor the cards. Upon its arrival to Europe in the Middle Ages, the players started using royal ranks of men withing the Royal Court to denote the cards. But it was only in the 1500’s, when the French have introduced the Queen to the cards. These cards were known as the “French Pack”, and were the direct predecessor of the modern 52 card deck.
Roulette, as a casino game also has a very interesting history. The word «roulette» means «a small wheel» in French. The game we know today was popular in France in Modern times, and was edited by Francois and Louis Blanc into the form we all are familiar with. They have introduced the “Single 0″ to the game in 1842, and roulette was brought to America in that variation. The Americans have made their own version of the game, introducing the “Double 0″ to the wheel. Thus, there were already two types of roulette – European and American. There are ongoing debates regarding the origin of the game itself. Some people claim that roulette was invented by Blaise Pascal, the French mathematician who lived in the 17th century. Other state that the game was introduced by the Chinese and brought to Europe by Dominican monks. Regardless of its origin, roulette still is the most fascinating casino games today.
Dice have been around for more than 20 centuries, being involved in numerous activities, ranging from gambling to religious rituals. Dice, as we know it now, are very popular due to the game called «craps». This game was highly popular among the rich and famous of the 18th and 19th century England, and was originally called «Hazard». It was imported into France, where it got its modern name. “Craps” has derived from the word “crabs”, meaning “pair of ones”. The game was a huge success in America, where it was simplified into the present form and played on steam powered show boats.
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American Casino History
Jun 7th
Early casinos were originally known as saloons. The development of saloons was influenced by four cities; New Orleans, being the first step to Texas, the home of gamblers; St. Louis, the home of fur traders; Chicago, with its large brewing trade; and San Francisco, the entrance to the goldmines. It was in a saloon that you could find somebody to talk to, drink with, and often gamble with.
Initially saloons could be found anywhere, often dug into the side of a hill. They later developed and could be recognized immediately because they were the town’s most imposing structure. Likewise, the saloon’s bartender was easily distinguished because he would be the best-dressed man in the saloon. He could also be found armed with a pistol and most likely a knife because he was both judge and jury to any disputes that regularly broke out.
The main contender for the status of America’s first casino was known as Brown’s Saloon. It was established in 1822 and could be found bordering Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. Typically, saloons followed miners; wherever miners settled, saloons were never far behind.
During the early 20th century gambling became outlawed and banned by state legislation and social reformers. However, in 1931 gambling was legalized throughout the state of Nevada, and Las Vegas spawned America’s first official casinos. Additionally, New Jersey’s Atlantic City joined them in 1978 to become America’s second largest gambling city.
Las Vegas was responsible for putting the glamor and entertainment into gambling, largely through celebrities like
Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. Sinatra and his friends, including Sammy Davis Jnr., and Dean Martin, became known
as the ‘Rat Pack’. They achieved iconic status in the gambling circuit and everybody wanted to share in their oasis of
sophisticated glamor. The original film ‘Ocean’s 11′ was filmed in Las Vegas, and cemented the town’s kudos forever.
During the 1970s the casinos in Las Vegas became notorious for their association with the Mafia. These events were authentically summarized in the 1995 Martin Scorsese film ‘Casino‘, which really says the first and last word about
the glitz and glamor of American casinos during that eventful decade.
Nowadays anyone can experience the sophistication and excitement of a casino in the online world of gambling. Online casino gambling is one of the 21st century’s biggest phenomenons. These days, American casinos are just as likely to be hosted in the real world with a web server, and existing in a virtual format on the Internet.
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