Lottery drawings are popular just about everywhere in the world. They give players the chance to dream of winning millions just by picking the right numbers, and even if only a few lucky individuals actually win those life-changing sums, the dream of getting their hands on that money is enough to lift any player’s spirits as they wait for the results.
Casinos can’t offer the jackpots worth tens of millions of dollars that national and state lotteries sometimes produce, but they do have the next best thing in their own lottery game: keno. Not only do the odds in this game tend to be better than those in government lotteries, but the drawings also happen much more often: in the online gambling world, they can take place whenever you want them to.
How to Play
Keno is a very easy game to play, especially if you’ve tried a lottery before. In each game, players must choose numbers (also called spots) that they hope will be chosen in the next drawing. Players typically can make anywhere from one to 15 picks, with different prizes available depending on how many spots they choose to play.
When the drawing takes place, 20 numbers will be picked in a range between 1 and 80. Once they have been chosen, the results come down to comparing how many match those that appear on the player’s ticket. If enough have been correctly matched, the player will win a prize.
Of course, how many numbers must be correctly matched and the corresponding prizes vary based on the kind of ticket the player has chosen. If you select just one number, for instance, and that number is chosen, you might win at 3-1 odds (keep in mind that payouts in this game do not include the return of your initial bet, so on a $1 ticket, this would mean you receive $3, for a $2 profit). Bet 10 spots, and hitting just five or more could win you a prize: the more you hit, the bigger the reward, with perhaps a major jackpot being available if you can match all 10.
Craps is a popular dice game typically played in a casino as well as informal settings. It is played with a pair of dice in which players bet on dice rolls. When one is playing Craps, money is then wagered against either the casino or the other players in the game. When someone plays against the other players outside of a casino setting, it is called street craps. Street craps can be played in any informal setting (i.e. on the sidewalk or “street”, hence the name) because it does not require much equipment to play, other than dice and players with money in their pockets.
History
Craps history, like many age-old casino games, is comprised of several theories on where the game originated, making it a bit hard to decipher the exact origin of the game. The game of Craps likely developed over time and involves a little bit of all these widely believed theories. Some theories suggest the game is based on the Old English game called Hazard and a French game called Crabes. Bernard Xavier Phillipe, a Louisiana gambler and politician, introduced the game to New orleans, Louisiana around the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. There was however a problem with this version of the game in that it was easily manipulated so that players could use fixed dice to cheat and push the odds in their favor. In 1907, John H. Winn created an updated version of the dice game that included a “don’t pass bet” area, making the game more akin to Craps as we know it today, and also eliminating the fixed dice problem.
Roulette is a popular game in modern-day casinos, but has a long history that dates back to the late 18th century when a primitive version of this game was first invented by Blaise Pascal. While the game as we know it today has since been modified significantly, it is still based on the same “little wheel” (French for Roulette). The version of the game that is played today was first introduced in Paris, France in the 18th century and was then only played by French royalty.
There are some urban legends that surround this game, one of which even suggests that the game is owned by the devil himself. The story goes that a man by the name of Francois Blanc made a deal with the devil in order to obtain the secrets of this game, thus, providing him with the ability to win consistently. The casino myths and legends that surround this casino table game have only contributed to its mystique and popularity.
American Roulette vs. European Roulette
The wheel has different variations according to the location in which it is being played. For example, in the United States, the standard wheel features an extra space on the wheel, referred to as the double zero wheel because the extra slot is deemed “00.” This 38-pocket wheel is used in the American version. Alternatively, the 37-pocket European version is played with only the single zero pocket. There are other wheel layouts as well such as French, California, and Vegas, but European and American are the most popular and widely recognized. Perhaps the most significant difference between the American and European variations is the house edge percentage attached to each variant (The American variation yields a 5.26% house edge, whereas the European version has a 2.7% house edge, making it easier to win).