Casinos

Casinos are brick and mortar facilities where different types of gambling and betting activities are performed. Casinos are typically built around restaurants, hotels or other sources of entertainment. There have been recent trends of having casinos in cruises and airlines. In fact, there are many casinos all over the world which are considered popular tourist destinations. Las Vegas is considered to be the world’s largest gambling and casino destination.

Casinos are not only famous for their gambling activities and huge jackpots, but also for the wholesome entertainment that they provide. There are live entertainment events and sporting events in some of the larger and more established casinos. The warm and eclectic atmosphere, along with the charged and excited people, aids the casino in making it an exciting place to be at.

The term Casino itself has Italian origins. The history of casinos is itself very long and interesting. However, though it took years to evolve into what casinos are today, in the last few decades, the face of casinos as we know them, has completely changed.

Casino games are essentially divided into three main categories. The first category of online casino games is the table games. These games are so named since they are played while sitting at a table. Some of the popular table games in today’s casinos all over the world are baccarat, blackjack, big 6, craps, card stud, poker, pai gow, pai gow poker, Texas Hold’em Poker, casino wars, roulette, Spanish 21, 3 way action, Sic bo, Omaha poker, 7 card stud and many others.

The second category of casino games is the electronic gaming machines like the slot machines. There are plenty of slot machines in each casino, since they are the most popular gambling options for both men and women. Slot machines are games of chance which involve the minimum amount of gambling skill. Slots machines and their winnings are based purely on luck. However, since they are so popular, there are many who have started making slot machine softwares using popular characters and interesting themes. Some of the gaming companies that work on producing more realistic and fun slot machines, with better audio visual features and bigger jackpots, are Playtech and Microgaming. These video slot machines allow you to play the reels over and over again. Some of the most popular slot machines all over the world, are Mega Moolah, Treasure Ride, Major Millions, Summer Time, Triple Seven and many others. Different casinos have their own video slot machines. These machines are usually them based and could be based in popular movies, comic books, cartoons, jungles, ancient civilizations and video games. Other electronic gaming machines include sports simulations, pachinko and video lottery terminal.

The third category of casino games are random number tickets like Bingo and Keno.

Some of the most popular casino games are:

1. Blackjack: this is a casino card game played between the player and the dealer where both player and the dealer try to make a card total as close as possible to 21, without actually going beyond 21.
2. Slots: there are two types of slot machines. The traditional slot machines are three reel ones and the modern ones are the five reel ones. In this game, the players have to pull down a crank to move the reels. Prizes and payouts are offered if predetermined combinations are achieved on all the reels.
3. Keno: a lottery game in which a series of numbers are generated randomly and players have to mark these on the numbered cards that they have. The payouts are based on the numbers that they are able to pick on the cards.
4. Poker Slots: a hybrid variety of slots and poker combined, poker slots is an interesting video casino game which can be played with money or as free play.
5. Roulette: this is one of the most glamorous and well known casino games. In this game, players can pick numbers to bet on and a marble is rolled on to a rolling disk. When the disk stops, the marble comes to a halt on a particular number. If the number on the wheel matches the number on which the player has bet, the player wins.
6. Caribbean Stud Poker: this is a five card version of the popular game poker. In this game, the player attempts to beat the hand of the dealer. The player receives a payout if their hand is the best among the others.
7. Video poker: an interesting computer based adaptation of the 5 card stud poker, this game is popularly found along slot machines. There are 10 hand video poker or 100 hand video poker.
8. Casino War: this is a simple game which is perhaps even familiar to small children. In this game, both the dealer and the player receive a card each. The person with the higher card wins.

There are several different card games that can be played in both brick and mortar casinos and online casinos.

Some of the major gaming corporations in the online casino world are Party Gaming, Micro Gaming, Playtech, Cryptologic, Chartwell and Net Entertainment. These gaming giants not only prepare software and games for online casino games but also prepare gaming software for cell phones, TV and other live venues. Playtech has been a pioneer of sorts in casino gaming software. Microgaming has some of the most popular progressive jackpots. These jackpots are randomized and can become massive.

Cryptologic, though famous for the casino games that they create, are also known for other console gaming. Chartwell technology on the other hand one of the biggest online casino gaming software supplier in the UK, Malta, Gibraltar and Alderney. Net Entertainment works mostly on making online casino software better. Their gaming division, known as BetterGames, is consistently attempting to make better games for the pleasure of online casino patrons and gamers.