10 Amazing Casino Facts to Amaze Your Friends with

Whilst we all know that the world of casino games can require a bit of practice to become an expert, even the most experienced players could learn a thing or two by reading the interesting facts below. We’ve done some research, talked to the people behind-the-scenes and would like to present you with our Top 10 “Amazing Casino Facts” – see how many of them you knew?

1. The word ‘Casino’ has its origins in Italy, deriving from the Italian word ‘Casa’ meaning house. The first casinos were literally “Little Houses” along the coast of the Mediterranean.

2. Legend has it that England’s King Henry VIII was responsible for one of the biggest gambling losses of all time, after he gave away the bells of St Paul as a result of a dice game loss.

3. An authentic poker chip weighs about 10 grams, rarely much more or less. Whilst many commercial “play at home” chip producers make them heavier, chips in casinos rarely weigh more than 11 grams.

4. A standard deck of cards, made up of 52 unique cards, can produce around 2.5million different hand combinations consisting out of 5 cards. Different hole card combinations in Texas Hold’em? 1,326.

5. The credit for the invention of playing cards as we know them today goes to the French. The four suits were designed to represent the four classes of French society: Noblemen (Spades), Traders (Diamonds), The Clergy (Hearts) and Commoners (Clubs).

6. Roulette is often referred to as “The Devil’s Wheel”, due to the fact that all the numbers added together comes to 666!

7. The Australians are thought to be the most gambling-friendly nation on earth – a study in 2003 claimed that the average Australian gambles more than any other nationality.

8. It is rumoured that Doyle Brunson once asked poker legend Stu Ungar if he would play Russian Roulette with one out of six chambers filled if there was a life changing amount of millions and millions dollars at stake. Ungar supposedly answered that for that kind of amount, he would play with five chambers filled!

9. The poker hand “Dead Man’s Hand” (two black eights, two black aces) got its name because it was the hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot.

10. One of the most famous blackjack players of all time was the French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte – who spent most of his time in exile on Elba playing the game.