1 
2 
3 
Which curiosity interests you the most?
- Rescued by FedEx Casino
- A prison with a casino
- The smallest casino in the world
- Gambling ban for Monaco citizens
- The Chinese Secret of Macau
- The Pachinko phenomenon in Japan
- Voluntary ban on entry
- First license for a woman
- The origin of the first automaton
- Why are there fruits in the vending machines?
- American vs. European roulette
- A sandwich invented behind the table
- β³ Design without windows and clocks
- MIT students and card counting
- βοΈ Roulette as a mistake of physics
- β Frequently asked questions
Various curiosities and interesting stories are also connected with casinos. The world of gambling is full of fascinating stories, unexpected twists and surprising facts that many people do not know. Below we present 15 of the most interesting of them, which will help you better understand the connection between culture and gambling in the world.
The owner of FedEx gambled to save the company
This incredible story is considered one of the most daring business decisions today. Smith, unbeknownst to his investors, took the last of the company's money and took a gamble in Las Vegas. Had he lost, FedEx would likely have gone bankrupt. Instead, he pulled off a miracle and the firm got the capital it needed to survive another week before they closed another investment round. Today, FedEx is a multi-billion dollar global company employing more than 450,000 people worldwide.
A prison with a casino
Fun Fact: Casinos are so popular in Nevada that a state prison even owned a casino for nearly 35 years. Prisoners could thus play poker , dice, blackjack or sports bets.
This unique phenomenon began in 1932 at the Nevada State Prison and lasted until 1967. The prison authorities believed that allowing controlled gambling could reduce tension between inmates and improve discipline. This allowed inmates to legally participate in gambling, which greatly helped maintain order in the facility. Interestingly, Nevada was the only state in the US at the time where such a thing was possible. This experiment ended with the arrival of a new prison director who found the practice morally objectionable.
The smallest casino in the world
This unique project was created in 2026 as a marketing campaign for the British casino chain Grosvenor. The fully rebuilt London cab features a professional blackjack gaming table with a real dealer, comfortable seating for players, a luxurious mini bar and even a TV for watching sports. Interestingly, this mobile casino can drive through the streets of London, picking up customers and offering them a unique gaming experience along the way. This is a brilliant example of creative marketing in the gambling industry.
Citizens of Monaco cannot gamble in casinos
This unusual law has its historical roots. Princess Caroline, mother of Monaco's ruler Charles III, enforced the ban in 1841 to protect local families from financial problems caused by gambling. At the time, Monaco was in an economic crisis and the Monte Carlo casino was supposed to attract foreign capital. To this day, Monaco residents must present their passport and ID when entering a casino to prove they are not citizens of Monaco. This ban also applies to people working in casinos and their families. The interesting thing is that even today, more than 180 years after the introduction of this rule, it remains in force.
Las Vegas is not the gambling city of the world
Fun fact: Actually, the gambling capital is the city of Macau in China. Its gambling revenue in 2026 exceeded five times that of Las Vegas. Most of the income here comes from betting on table games, while in Las Vegas it comes from slot machines.
Macau, a former Portuguese colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1999, experienced an incredible boom in the gambling industry after 2026. At that time, the Chinese government ended its monopoly on the operation of casinos, which led to massive investment by international companies. In 2026, Macau surpassed Las Vegas in gambling revenue and has held the lead ever since. The most significant difference between the two destinations is in the preferences of the players β while in Macau up to 80% of VIP players' income comes from table games (mainly baccarat), in Las Vegas the main income comes from slots and integrated entertainment services such as restaurants, shops and shows.
Casinos are illegal in Japan
Despite strict anti-gambling laws, there is a large Pachinko industry in Japan with an annual turnover of over $200 billion. Pachinko parlors take advantage of a legal loopholeβtechnically, players don't win money directly, but items they can "sell" at nearby stores. These stores are often owned by third parties, but actually work closely with the gaming parlors. There are more than 10,000 Pachinko parlors in Japan with approximately 4 million slot machines, which is more than in all legally sanctioned casinos in North America combined. Interestingly, until 2026, Japan banned casinos completely, but in an effort to boost tourism, the government passed the Integrated Resorts Act, which allows for the construction of a limited number of casinos.
No entry to the casino
Interesting fact: If you feel that your gambling has gotten out of control, some states allow you to be banned from entering the casino for several years or for life. However, this step must be carefully considered in advance.
This program, known as "self-exclusion", is an important tool in the fight against problem gambling. In most countries with legalized gambling (including the Czech Republic through the Register of Excluded Persons administered by the Ministry of Finance New Zealand), players can voluntarily sign a contract that prohibits them from entering casinos for a specified period. In case of violation of this ban, banned players may be removed from the facility. Some jurisdictions maintain extensive databases of banned players' faces, which they combine with modern facial recognition systems when entering casinos. In recent years, this system has also been extended to online casinos.
The first legal license to operate a casino for a woman
Casinos were not only run by men at first, but the first official license was obtained by a woman named Mayme Stocker in 1920 for the Northern Club Casino. Her husband initially did not want to be associated with the casino. This pioneering moment in the history of the gambling industry took place in Las Vegas, where Mayme Stocker obtained an official license for the Northern Club when the city decided to legalize some forms of gambling. Stocker was a mother of three, and although her husband Harold owned the business, he himself did not want to be associated with the casino because of his job with the railroad, which forbade employees from being involved in the gambling business. The Northern Club only offered card games as slot machines were still illegal. Mayme Stocker thus paved the way for other women in the gambling industry at a time when the field was almost exclusively a male domain.
The first slot machine was not operated in a casino
Fun fact: The very first slot machine, created in 1895 by mechanic Charles Fey called the Liberty Bell, operated in his San Francisco auto repair shop, and players could play while waiting for the vehicle to be repaired.
Charles Fey, a German immigrant and skilled mechanic, created the revolutionary Liberty Bell slot machine, which became the forerunner of all modern slot machines. His machine contained three spinning reels with five symbols - horseshoes, diamonds, hearts, spades and a torn Liberty Bell. The top prize was ten nickels (50 cents) for three bells in a row. Fey refused to sell the patent for his invention to large manufacturers, instead maintaining a monopoly and leasing the machines to businesses for 50% of the revenue. As gambling was prohibited in California at the time, his machines were officially designated as "amusement devices". Interestingly, the original Liberty Bell slot machine survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and is now on display in a museum in Nevada.
The slot machines dispensed chewing gum
This fascinating development occurred in the early 20th century when gambling was banned in many US states. Machine manufacturers came up with a creative solution β they created machines that dispensed gum or sweets instead of money. The symbols on the drums corresponded to the flavors of the chewing gum (cherries, oranges, lemons). These machines, known as "trade stimulators", were placed in shops, bars and restaurants. Customers could win additional gum, but often tokens that could be "unofficially" exchanged for cash. The most famous company producing these machines was the Mills Novelty Company, which created the popular "Operator Bell" machine with fruit symbols.
The American version of roulette is harder to win than the European version
European roulette has 37 numbers - numbers from 1 to 36 plus one zero (0). American roulette adds a second zero (00), increasing the number of possible outcomes to 38. This seemingly small change has a significant impact on the casino's edge. In european roulette , the casino edge is around 2.7%, while in American Roulette it rises to 5.26%. In practice, this means that for every NZ$ 0that the player bets on american roulette, will lose on average NZ$ 01, while in european roulette he would only lose NZ$ 0. There is even a third, even more advantageous option for the player - French Roulette, which includes the "La Partage" rule (if the bet is even and zero, the player gets half of the bet back), which reduces the casino's edge to 1.35%.
The sandwich was invented in a casino
Fun fact: In 1765, Earl John Montagu was such an avid gambler that he refused to leave the gaming table and asked his servants to bring him meat between sliced ββbread so he could eat undisturbed while playing. Since then, the sandwich has become a popular food.
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, was an 18th-century aristocrat and statesman who held high political offices including First Lord of the Admiralty. But he was also known for his passion for gambling and cards. According to a historical anecdote, during one 24-hour gaming session, Montagu did not want to interrupt the game to eat. He therefore asked his servants to bring him beef sandwiched between two slices of toasted bread, allowing him to eat with one hand without soiling the cards or having to move away from the table. This practical invention, which came to be called the "sandwich" after its title, quickly spread among the cream of London and gradually throughout the world.
Casinos have no windows or clocks
Casinos are designed to create a closed world where players lose track of time. The absence of clocks and windows to indicate whether it is day or night causes visitors to lose track of how long they have been playing. This strategy is combined with other elements such as a steady supply of free drinks, controlled lighting that creates the impression of "eternal day", and the constant buzz and sounds of slot machines. Everything is designed to keep players in the casino as long as possible. Interestingly, Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas mogul, was the first to start adding windows and natural light to modern casinos, breaking with tradition.
The MIT Blackjack Team - Students Who Overwhelmed the Casinos
The MIT Blackjack Team began as a small math class project, but quickly grew into a professional operation with investors and formal recruitment and training of new members. The students used a legal but casino-hated card-counting technique that they perfected through advanced mathematics and teamwork. The team used various signals and codes to communicate the state of the game and strategically placed their members at different tables. During its existence, the team has earned an estimated $10 million. Their story became the subject of the bestseller "Bringing Down the House" and later the popular movie "21" with Kevin Spacey.
The inventor of roulette wanted to create a perpetual motion machine
Interesting fact: Roulette first appeared not as a gambling game, but as a scientific experiment in the middle of the 17th century. The legendary French physicist and mathematician Blaise Pascal tried to build a perpetual motion machine.
In his quest to invent a machine that could run continuously without an external power source, Pascal built a wheel with an elaborate mechanical design to put it back into motion. His physical experiment may have failed β because the laws of thermodynamics cannot be fooled and frictional losses always eventually stopped the wheel β but he left the world with something extraordinary. His prototype roulette wheel with small cages quickly caught on in Parisian gaming salons and laid the foundation for today's most popular table gambling game. The word "roulette" thus still comes from French and means "small wheel".
Curiosities, not instructions These stories are historical exceptions, not strategies. FedEx survived thanks to the luck of one particular momentβ in thousands of similar situations it did not turn out that way and these companies did not go down in history. The MIT team needed years mathematical training, capital from investors and sophisticated team coordination - and yet the casino is gradually excluded from the game. Gambling has a built-in mathematical casino advantage that works in the long run always in benefit of the operator.
Related articles: