Q 01/05

What did the Italian word casino, from casa, originally describe?

A) A harbour customs house

B) A village pawnshop

C) A small villa or social club

D) A monastery guest house

Answer · why

C) A small villa or social club

A small villa or social club: casino means 'little house', and English borrowed it in 1744 for a public room for music and dancing; gambling took over...

Q 02/05

Which city's Great Council opened the Ridotto, the West's first government-sanctioned gambling house, in 1638?

A) Genoa

B) Florence

C) Naples

D) Venice

Answer · why

D) Venice

Venice. Unable to stop its citizens gambling, the republic opened the four-storey Ridotto so that it could control the play and take a share of the mo...

Q 03/05

Which US state legalized casino gambling in 1931, giving America its first legal casinos?

A) Mississippi

B) Nevada

C) New Jersey

D) Louisiana

Answer · why

B) Nevada

Nevada. With its mines failing in the Depression, the legislature legalised gambling in March 1931 to bring money back into the state; New Jersey was ...

Q 04/05

Which city passed the Las Vegas Strip in 2006 to become the world's biggest gambling market by revenue?

A) Macau

B) Singapore

C) Monte Carlo

D) Atlantic City

Answer · why

A) Macau

Macau. Its boom began in 2002, when Stanley Ho's 40-year casino monopoly expired and rival operators, Las Vegas firms among them, were licensed; four ...

Q 05/05

What term describes the built-in margin that guarantees the casino profits in the long run?

A) The handle

B) The drop

C) The soft count

D) The house edge

Answer · why

D) The house edge

The house edge. The odds are set so that players lose a small share of their bets over time; poker is the exception, since players bet against each ot...