No 1 in Gambling

In 1976, in a case called Bryan v. Itasca County, the Supreme Court made a ruling that sowed the legal seeds that would eventually give rise to the Indian gaming industry.^[1] In an opinion written by Justice William Brennan, the Supreme Court highlighted tribal independence from state regulatory authority. Since regulatory authority is the primary legal mechanism for regulating some forms of gambling, this case would prove relevant to the impending controversy of Indian gaming.

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American mathematician Dr. Edward O. Thorp is considered the father of card counting. His 1962 book Beat the Dealer (ISBN 0394703103) outlined various betting and playing strategies for optimal blackjack play. Although mathematically sound, some of the techniques described no longer apply as casinos took counter-measures (such as no longer dealing to the very last card). Also, the counting system described (10-count) is harder to use and less profitable than the point-count systems that have been developed since. A history of how counting developed can be seen in David Layton's documentary film, "The Hot Shoe."

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View in Canal Street, New Orleans, 1857

Games of chance have a very ancient history and came to the colonies with the first settlers.^[1] Attitudes on gambling varied greatly from community to community but there were no large-scale restrictions on the practice. Early on the British colonies all used lotteries from time to time to raise revenue. A 1769 restriction on lotteries by the British crown in fact became an issue that helped fuel the tensions that led to the American Revolution.^[2]

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Johnny Moss, Becky Binion, and Puggy Pearson at the 1974 World Series of Poker

The original World Series of Poker was started by Tom Morehead of the Riverside casino in Reno and was an invitational event. The set of tournaments the World Series of Poker (WSOP) would evolve to was the brainchild of Las Vegas legend, casino owner, and poker player Benny Binion as well as his two sons Jack and Ted.

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History

After the increase in the value of silver stopped the circulation of silver dollar coins around 1964, casinos rushed to find a substitute, as most slot machines at that time used that particular coin. The Nevada Gaming Control Board consulted with the US Treasury, and casinos were soon allowed to start using their own tokens to operate their slot machines. The Franklin Mint was the main minter of tokens at that time.

In many jurisdictions, casinos are not permitted to use currency in slot machines, necessitating tokens for smaller denominations.

Tokens are being phased out of many casinos in favor of coinless machines which accept banknotes and print receipts for payout. (These receipts can also be inserted into the machines.)

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Private lotteries were legal in the United States in the early 1800s. In fact, a number of U.S. patents were granted on new types of lottery. In today's vernacular, these would be considered business method patents.

Before the advent of state-sponsored lotteries, many illegal lotteries thrived; for example, see Numbers game and Peter H. Matthews. The first modern state lottery in the U.S. was established in New Hampshire in 1964; today, lotteries are established in 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Arkansas voters approved a state lottery in the 2008 general election.

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Mystic Lake Casino

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Medieval tabula players, from the 13th century Carmina Burana

Backgammon is the oldest known recorded game. Traditionally, it was believed to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia, (present-day Iraq), also see Royal Game of Ur. In English, the word backgammon is believed to be derived from "back" plus the Middle English word "gamen" (game).

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