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Section D

Casino History

Where the classic games came from: the riverboats, salons and gaming halls that shaped roulette, blackjack and their forgotten cousins, told as history rather than strategy.

articles6
Reading time26 min
First filedOct 2026
UpdatedNov 6, 2026
  1. 034What Is Matka? How a Bombay Cotton Wager Became a Number GameMatka is a number game that grew out of betting on cotton prices in 1950s Bombay. Here is how the pot draw worked, why it spread, and why it remains illegal in most of India.3 min
  2. 032The Oldest Casino in the World: Venice, the Ridotto and the First Gaming HousesThe title of oldest casino usually goes to Venice, where a government-run gaming room opened in 1638. Here is what the Ridotto was, why it shut, and which spa-town halls followed.5 min
  3. 031Casinos in South Korea: A Short HistorySouth Korea took an unusual route with casinos: most were built for overseas guests, tied to hotels and tourism, with a single resort open to local players.4 min
  4. 018What Is Faro? The Card Game Behind "Bucking the Tiger"For most of the 1800s, the busiest table in an American gambling hall was not poker but faro. How the game worked, where the tiger came from and why it vanished.5 min
  5. 015Vingt-et-Un: How a French Card Game Became BlackjackLong before anyone said "blackjack", players across Europe were chasing twenty-one without going bust. How vingt-et-un travelled, picked up a new name and met the mathematicians.4 min
  6. 014Who Invented Roulette? The Wheel's Story From Paris to Monte CarloBlaise Pascal usually gets the credit, but roulette had no single inventor. Here is how the little wheel came together in France, lost a zero in Germany and kept two in America.5 min

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