Casino Facts You Might Not Know

Whether it’s myths about the origins of casino games or whether certain casinos are haunted, there are plenty of unknowns about the casino world. If you are looking to impress your friends, we have some relatively unknown casino facts that may surprise you; read on to find out more!

Monaco Residents Can’t Gamble At Monaco Casinos

In Monaco, 1863, the Monte Carlos Casino was launched. The casino inside a purpose-built building has become world-famous but has yet to be available for use by the residents. The reason why is not precisely documented, but in 2020 the BBC reported on the gambling laws of the country in a three-episode documentary series entitled “Inside Monaco: Playground Of The Rich”.

The series suggested that the potential harm betting could cause on the Monégasque was recognised by the then-ruling Princess Caroline. She believed gambling revenue should only be generated by foreigners. To sweeten the deal, Monaco residents do not pay income tax.

FedEx Was Saved By Blackjack

One of the most well-known delivery companies in the world, the main feature of a popular Hollywood film, and one of the most recognisable logos in the world. The American freight company, FedEx, was once on the brink of collapse.

In 1971, Frederick Smith set up FedEx with a £4 million inheritance and £80 million in loans. Within a few years and largely due to rising fuel costs, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy, with only £5,000 in the company's coffers.

Smith flew to Las Vegas with the last of the company’s money and gambled it on games of Blackjack. He managed to acquire £27,000, which was enough to keep the company running for another week. FedEx eventually became the world’s first overnight delivery service, delivering billions of packages to almost every nation in the world and recording nearly £100 billion in profit every year.

The World’s Smallest Casino

In June 2016, UK-based chain Grosvenor Casino launched a casino in the back of a black cab ahead of a bumper summer of sport. That summer saw the Euros, the Olympics, and Fury vs Klitschko take place alongside the usual Formula 1 calendar, golf opens, and cricket calendar.

You could hail the taxi for free from Hill Street casino or go anywhere after making a donation to Carer’s Trust. The backseat casino offered a blackjack table with a croupier, internet gambling facilities, and even a bar! While the “World’s Smallest Travelling Casino” is no longer running, it is suspected that the Basement Casino under North Cadbury Court in Somerset has taken its place as the world’s smallest casino.

Craps Comes From Crabs

Another conundrum of the English language. The reason why crabs became craps is the same linguistic magic that turned þoht into thought. Historians believe that craps were based on a British game called Hazard. A game that became popular 2000 years ago - it is even mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In that game, landing two ones on a dice roll was called crabs.

The game spread across Europe, as did the British influence, and in the mid-1700s, as the French population emigrated to Nova Scotia, they took the game with them. The French diaspora later travelled much further south to Louisana, which was littered with gaming parlours. These gave a platform for the dice game’s popularity to proliferate.

The game was eventually simplified over time, and as the name crabs were spoken in different dialects and accents and passed on to others, it became craps, as did the name of the now popular casino game.

A Casino In Antarctica

Antarctica does not have native people, but it does have a casino! The uninhabited continent was being eyed up by Americans in the fallout of the two World Wars. As soon as 1946, the U.S. tried to put arms on the icy landmass and use areas for weapons testing.

Other countries began to object and the question of who could claim the only continent on Earth without a human population. This led to the Antarctica Treaty System, which agreed that the chilly mainland would become a neutral zone. It was split up between 12 different countries, including Belgium, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

As it stands, 55 states are registered, but another founding member was Argentina. In Argentine Antarctica, at the Argentinian Esperanza Base sits a casino. The base is a research centre that has since hosted the first-ever birth in Antarctica.