Nowadays, few people go to land-based casinos. Users prefer to bet online, especially since virtual casinos offer lucrative bonuses, which can be found at https://twinspinca.com/no-deposit-bonuses/. We invite you to remember how the game used to be played and what curiosities happened back in the days when online casinos didn't even exist yet.

A poker game eight years long 

Have you sat in a casino for a few days and thought you were almost a marathon runner? That's nothing compared to a poker game that didn't stop for nearly eight and a half years.

In 1881, Billy and Lottie Hunchinson opened a place called The Bird Cage Theater in Arizona. It operated a high-stakes poker room in the basement. Behind it was a 24/7 game. It didn't stop for eight years, five months, and three days.

It was a legendary place that almost all the best poker players visited. During that time, tens of millions of dollars passed through the table. The amount of the owners' income was not specified, but they were known to take ten percent of the pot.

The vintage video poker machines were mechanical. They appeared as early as the nineteenth century. Most often, they were installed in bars and other pubs.

The device was as simple as possible:

  • On the five rotating reels depicted cards.
  • The payout table was not originally assumed.

When a poker combination was made, the lucky man would go to the bartender for a reward. Most often meant cigarettes or liquor.

The modern system of calculating and accruing the payout was invented somewhat later and soon became the standard for this gambling genre.

Craps for a Snack 

Legal gambling with an official licensing system originated in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, but Americans started gambling long before that. Many preferred to try their luck at early versions of craps and other gambling games with six-sided dice.

If the cops appeared unexpectedly amid underground gambling, the lawbreakers would try to get rid of the evidence as quickly as possible. The small dice were easy to hide in the stomach, so they were immediately swallowed. It's hard to say if this trick caused digestive problems, but it helped avoid trouble with the police.

In the nineteenth century, British underground casino owners hired people to swallow dice during raids.

Napoleon and Blackjack 

Several sources confirm that Napoleon Bonaparte loved gambling. The emperor especially liked blackjack. In fact, the name was not yet in circulation at the time. In France, one of its first versions was called Vingt-et-Un. It was the one that Napoleon liked.

When the legendary warlord was exiled to the island of Elba, he had plenty of free time, and he could afford to enjoy a long game of cards.