Casino History

Dominoes from Tiles to Parlor Sets

Dominoes grew from Chinese tiles into European parlor sets. A double-six has 28 tiles, and stakes are optional.

November 7, 2026

Faro was a nineteenth-century betting game on card ranks. A dealing box, a simple layout, and a long problem with cheating.

November 7, 2026

Casino began as an Italian word for a small house or lodge, and only later meant a public gambling room.

November 7, 2026

Chemin de fer lets players hold the bank. Punto banco gives the bank to the house and freezes the draw rules.

November 7, 2026

Governments and cities have long sold lottery tickets to fund projects. The ticket is still a negative-expectation purchase.

November 7, 2026

Whist was a four-player partnership game of tricks and trumps. Bridge and other descendants kept the skeleton.

November 7, 2026

Mahjong is a four-player tile game with suits, honors, and a long social life. Stakes are optional and local.

November 7, 2026

Green felt is a practical surface: it shows cards, hides wear less harshly than bare wood, and became a tradition.

November 7, 2026

How baccarat moved from Italian card play into French salons and, later, into the modern casino shoe.

November 7, 2026

Follow the story of roulette from eighteenth-century France through the single-zero wheel to the American version, with myths set apart.

November 7, 2026

A look at the history of dice, from ancient animal bones and carved cubes to the standardized dice used at casino tables today.

November 7, 2026

Trace playing cards from early Asian origins through medieval Europe to the standard 52-card deck seen at casino tables today.

November 7, 2026