Casino Gambling: On a Roll

Nevada, of course, has had legalized gambling for over seventy years, but Nevada's monopoly on the pastime is over. Atlantic City now draws much of the lucrative East Coast business, patrons who were accustomed to flying out to Vegas, on casino-paid flights, to stay in free hotel suites, and sip on free drinks, while playing the tables at Caesar's or The Sands.

And now other states and localities have also followed suit. The country of America has seen a surge in Native American (Indian) casinos.

In the first century of America's existence, gambling was ubiquitous, if not always altogether free of criticism. The lottery was a common way to raise funds in colonial days. In fact, George Washington ran a lottery to help finance his army, as did some of the most venerable institutions of higher learning, such as Harvard and Columbia, to start their endowments.

Thomas Jefferson was said to be in the process of designing a state lottery when he died. The Puritans, of course, didn't hold with gambling, but not everyone in America was a Puritan. After Jefferson successfully negotiated the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, casino and riverboat gambling became as American as the frontier.

The Purchase, along with 828,000 square miles of territory, included the city of New Orleans, home of the first Monte Carlo-type casinos in North America, and the destination of professional gamblers, eager to expand their operations.

The first real casino gambler was a Caribbean entrepreneur named John Davis, who opened his opulent establishment in New Orleans in 1827. There had been casinos in the South before, but none really worthy of the name. Most gambling operations took place in the archetypal shady back room that smelled of whiskey and sweat.

Davis' operation was different. In place of cheap whiskey there were fine French wines, plus free food and cigars served from silver dishes. There were polished hardwood tables, carpets and mirrors, and fancy games to go with them - games with French names like Roulette, or "vingt-et-un" (Twenty-One).

Most startling of all, there was no cover charge. Davis had invented a different way to make his money - he rigged the odds in favor of the house. Thus, though someone might win at every game, the ultimate and certain winner was always the casino.

This little change in the rules made gambling a business. It worked in New Orleans, Las Vegas, and in Atlantic City. Individuals may win or lose, but the house ALWAYS wins, in the end.

The freelance gambling men who fanned out across the country from New Orleans often lacked the mathematical sophistication of a John Davis, or a modern casino operator. Dressed in fancy clothes that contrasted wildly with the rough everyday wear and sober Sunday-best prevalent along the Mississippi, the riverboat gamblers relied on their skill, and smooth patter, to outwit amateurs and make a living.

Nor were they above outright swindles such as the ancient shell game, as workable then, and now, as it was in Chaucer's time. Casino operators, in contrast, had no need to cheat. All they had to do was wait for time to shake out their inevitable profits, insured by the odds.