Casino gambling began in Europe and the Italian word “casino” originally meant a small villa or summerhouse, usually built on the grounds of a larger Italian home or palace. During the 19th century, the term casino came to include public buildings where gambling and sports took place. In the U.S., where immigrants brought with them familiar gambling games, houses and halls in which to play became commonplace. During the early 1800s, gambling on riverboats became fashionable and beautiful floating casinos graced the waters of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

In big city centers such as New York and Chicago, gambling halls also attracted refined clientele; they were often frequented by members of the upper class who could afford to bet big and lose big. Gambling halls, a.k.a. casinos, became big business.

Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Monte Carlo were major casino gambling centers of the 20th century. Macao surpassed Las Vegas and became the world’s biggest casino gambling center in 2006. There are thriving casinos on many Indian reservations throughout the U.S., while Manchester is becoming a major casino gambling center of the U.K.
The Internet Casino Revolution

The casino gambling world was revolutionized by the advent of the online casino in the 1990s. For the first time, people could play real money casino games at any time and at any place that has an internet connection. Wild Jack Online Casino, founded in 1999, might seem like just a baby in the millennia-old history of casino games, but it is a respected elder statesman in the new high-tech world of internet casino gambling.

Casino games have come a long way from the days of bone dice and wooden playing cards. Years ago, it would have seemed inconceivable that you could play online blackjack and other online casino games in your own home. Now, with new internet casino games being invented every month, it appears certain that the best is yet to come.

Blackjack is one of the oldest card games. Similar games were very popular in France during the 18th century. One of the most popular versions was called simply 21. Blackjack migrated to America with the French colonists and traveled across the country on riverboats. Actually it was only in the 20th century Vegas that blackjack received its name. When the state of Nevada has legalized gambling, Vegas has turned into the gambling capital of the world and casinos have began importing more and more new games into their gambling halls.

To draw more attention to the game a special bonus was added to the game. Any hand that has the ace of spades and any of the black jacks in the deck (either spades or clubs) would pay 10 to 1 on the players bet. Somehow the name blackjack has stuck to the game long after casinos have stopped giving this special bonus. Today, 70 years after the introduction of blackjack to the world of casino gambling, blackjack is one of the most popular games in online and land based casinos.