Q 01/05

The word casino comes from the Italian casa. What did it originally mean?

A) A card table for four players

B) A locked money vault

C) A small villa or social club

D) A leather dice cup

Answer · why

C) A small villa or social club

The Ridotto in Venice, the first known European gambling house, was not even called a casino when it opened in 1638.

Q 02/05

Where and when did the Ridotto, the West's first government-sanctioned gambling house, open?

A) London, 1720

B) Monte Carlo, 1863

C) Paris, 1796

D) Venice, 1638

Answer · why

D) Venice, 1638

The Great Council opened it for carnival season after concluding it could not stop citizens gambling anyway; the top game was the card game basetta.

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

New Jersey did not follow until 1976, when voters approved casinos for Atlantic City.

Q 04/05

Which city has overtaken Las Vegas as the world's largest gambling market by revenue?

A) Macau

B) Singapore

C) Monte Carlo

D) Atlantic City

Answer · why

A) Macau

Its casino industry is about seven times the size of Las Vegas's, and baccarat taxes are its biggest single source of public funds.

Q 05/05

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

A) The rake

B) The hold

C) The vigorish

D) The house edge

Answer · why

D) The house edge

Poker is the exception: players compete against each other and the casino takes a rake instead.