As a dealer, being a part of the casino and gaming industry can be a blast! One exciting aspect of the industry is the years of history behind casinos and gambling, especially in Las Vegas. Filled with iconic stars, debunked lore, and fun stories – the history within the fast-paced world of casinos is a very entertaining one. Here are a few fun facts you may not have already known about casinos.
Casinos Don’t Actually Pump Oxygen Onto the Gaming Floors
Casinos breed superstition and lore, with plenty of stories about techniques and tricks used by players and casino owners to somehow game the system in their favour. One persistent myth is the idea that casinos pump oxygen onto the gaming floor to keep gamblers alert and gambling. It isn’t true. Besides being a felony, it’s also a fire hazard. Where does the myth come from? The Godfather author Mario Puzo’s novel Fools Die featured a fictional casino, Xanadu, that pumped in oxygen, perhaps leading readers to think it was a common practice. According to Hoaxes.org, Casinos definitely do pump in smells though, which they believe encourage people to gamble more.
The First Casino License in Las Vegas Was Issued to a Woman
The pioneers of the Las Vegas casino industry weren’t all male mobsters: the first legal casino license was issued to a woman named Mayme Stocker in 1920 for the Northern Club. Stocker was a respectable wife and mother who was frequently written about in the local newspaper society pages. She opened the casino under her name (her husband Harold didn’t want to be associated with it at first) and offered the only five games legal in Vegas at the time: stud poker, draw poker, lowball poker, 500, and bridge.
Slot Machines Used to Actually Dispense Fruit-Flavoured Chewing Gum
Slot machines have little pictures of fruit on the wheels because in the early 1880s-era they would actually dispense fruit-flavoured gum. The machines also dispensed tokens meant to be exchanged for drinks and cigars before pumping out actual coins in 1888.
About Crescent Schools
Looking for a fun and exciting career? Crescent School of Gaming and Bartending can train you for a dynamic, well-paying job in the hospitality or casino industry today. You can be ready to bartend in just three weeks. Be around fun people and have cash in your pocket every night as a mixologist, or claim your place in the ever-growing casino gaming industry in as little as three months. Financial aid is available, if qualified. You can start one of Crescent’s top-quality programs with no money down.
