Interesting Articles

Here you will find various articles, that we think are interesting reads.

The players who broke the bank

Published: Tuesday, 09 December 2014

Casinos generally aren’t too concerned about a customer’s winning session. Big wins act as rare, good PR and, in any case, are normally lost straight back to the casino. But what if someone were to dramatically up the stakes? Only in hindsight might a manager wonder, as the mysterious high roller sails into the night with a smile and the contents of the vault, did he know something I didn’t?

Breaking a casinos bank means to win so much the casino does not have enough cash on hand to settle the debt immediately. In the entire 300 year history of casinos in Europe this has only come to pass a handful of times, each time immortalised in casino legend. The men and women behind these coups are a motley bunch of gamblers, mathematicians, confidence men and entrepreneurs each of whom did the impossible and beat the house.

Is Gambling a Viable Career Choice?

Published: Wednesday, 08 January 2014

professional gambler

Can you really make a living as a professional gambler? The authors of “How to Make $100,000 a Year Gambling for a Living,” say it’s all about knowing which games are beatable and how to beat them. David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth give detailed instructions on how to make money at games including sports betting, blackjack and poker. With all these factors spurring people on to quit their day jobs and become full time gamblers, the question is, should you take the hook?

The ultimate bucket list – What to do when you Win the jackpot

Published: Tuesday, 07 January 2014

Everyone dreams of making it big don't they? Hitting the online casino jackpot, winning the lotto, being given a six figure salary at work, it could all change your life forever. But what would you do if you suddenly had more money than you could spend? We have a look at the ultimate bucket list, or things to do before you die, if you're loaded.

Build your dream house

Forget buying a house next to your favorite celebrities, in the middle of Los Angeles, if you want to really show off you need to build your dream house! Hire an architect, in fact buy an architect if you want, and give them the most ridiculous of demands. If you want a water slide instead of a staircase, you can have it! If you want a whole room made of chocolate (like Willy Wonka), then you can have it! None of this boring 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom and a swimming pool house in Beverly Hills.

Travel round the World, properly

Traveling round the world seems to make nearly everyone's bucket list, but it is a little bit predictable. If you want to do it properly, then invest in your own transport. It could be a luxurious cruise ship, big enough to take your friends and family. Or a private jet, if you're feeling selfish. You can visit wherever you want, whenever you want, without having to deal with other passengers. Just remember to hire some staff, unless you can fly a plane, or drive a boat yourself!

Gambling in the Wild, Wild West

Published: Tuesday, 21 May 2013

The Old West was famous for several things; gun-slinging outlaws, damsels in distress and gambling. But what is gambling in those days? It was so much more than just placing a bet and winning or losing - it was an integral part of the culture. It was a meeting place - a social event. Everyone from cowboys to lawmen would play games in the gambling halls (old school casinos), regardless of class or gender. Poker is one of those games you expect to see in an old west film, and women would play it just as much as men. The Frontier Gambler is one of the most recognizable characters from Old West history (apart from outlaws, of course), so let's see how gambling in the Wild, Wild West became so popular.

cowboy neon

Entertainment or profession?

Back then, there was very little to do in your little town, and that is one of the reasons gambling became so popular. That and drinking, or committing crimes. Whenever a new town, or settlement, was constructed, one of the first-ever buildings would be a gambling hall, just to keep the citizens occupied. It wasn't just a form of entertainment though, many would see gambling as a respected profession (as long as they were making money from it). Family members would be very proud of their son, or daughter if they grew up to be a professional gambler. If only my partner would see my gambling as a respected profession...

Gold rushes and cattle ranches

There were several different historical events, which helped boost the gambling industry in the Old West. Cattle towns, such as in Texas and Kansas, were some of the most connected (moneyed) in Western America. Many of these towns had excellent railway systems, and affluent people who worked in the cattle industry. These people certainly had money to spare, and to relieve the boredom of working with cows, would spend a lot of this money in the gambling halls. Then, there was the California Gold Rush of 1849, which pulled in plenty of migrant gamblers. San Francisco soon became a huge gambling hotspot, as the gold miners would stop off to wager their fortunes.

Card games were the most popular, with blackjack taking the lead. Slots machines - the most popular game these days at casinos - only began to appear much later.

Why historically do gambling and gangsters go hand in hand?

Published: Monday, 20 May 2013

Have you ever noticed that nearly every single gangster film, book, or documentary, has some kind of gambling in it? Or that nearly every single gambling story has some kind of gangster in it? Why is it that gambling and gangsters seem to go together so nicely? What is gambling that attracts these gangster types so? It's actually a pretty interesting history, and one I thought I would share with you.

The original mobsters

Gangs, gangsters, mafias and mobsters, they've all been round for quite some time. There are stories of the Sicilian Mafia in the mid 1880's, the Chinese Triads in the 1780's and the Gangs of New York in the early 19^th century. No one really knows who the original gangsters were (would you really want to annoy someone by making a guess?), but there was one common denominator between them all; they were scary! Organized crime was pretty serious through the 19^th and 20^th century, with people like Al Capone, Frank Costello and the Kray Twins all being well-known names. The types of organized crime they liked? Bootlegging, prostitution and, of course, illegal gambling.