Month: January 2021

The oldest casino in the world is Casinò di Venezia or, in English, Venice Casino, which is housed in a Renaissance-style palace, known as Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, on the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio district of northern Venice. Ca’ Vendramin Calergi was constructed over a twenty-eight-year period during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, but did not become the home of Casinò di Venezia until 1959, after it was bought and renovated by the City of Venice.

Casinò di Venezia first opened its doors in 1638, in a wing of Palazzo Dandolo – a Venetian Gothic palace near Piazza San Marco, or ‘St. Mark’s Square’ – formerly known as Il Ridotto, or ‘The Private Room’. Under the auspices of the City of Venice, the space was converted into the first legal, commercial casino to be open to the public in Western Europe. Casinò di Venezia soon became famous, or infamous, as a centre for entertainment and, although it was closed in its original location in 1774 at the behest of the Venetian authorities, has existed, in one form or another, ever since.

The modern Casinò di Venezia is an eclectic mix of the old and the new, offering olde worlde style and sophistication, without a hint of stuffiness. Tuxedo-clad dealers operate against a background of modern décor, illuminated by cool, atmospheric lighting and the range of table games, which includes blackjack, poker and roulette, and slots should be sufficient to satisfy even the most ardent gambler.

 

Caribbean Stud Poker, which originated as ‘Casino Poker’ or ‘Tropical Poker’ in the Eighties – depending on whose account you choose to believe – is a straightforward variant of Five-Card Stud Poker. However, unlike Five-Card Stud, Caribbean Stud is played, solely, against the house, so bluffing is impossible. Multiple players may play simultaneously against the house, but collusion is prohibited.

Each player makes a forced or ‘ante’ bet and, optionally, an optional $1 side bet, the majority of which is added to a progressive jackpot meter. To win some, or all, of the progressive jackpot, a player must have a hand of a flush or better; a royal flush pays 100% of the progressive jackpot.

Each player, including the dealer, is dealt five cards, face down, although the dealer turns the fifth and final card in his hand face up. Each player may fold, in which case he loses his ante bet, and side bet, if he made one, or make a raise bet, of twice his ante bet. When the action reaches the dealer, he turns over his remaining four cards and requires at least an ace and a king to ‘open’ his hand, or ‘qualify’.

If the dealer fails to qualify, each player wins his ante bet, which pays even money, and ties, or ‘pushes’, on his raise bet. However, if the dealer does qualify, he may or may not beat each player. If the dealer wins, the player loses his ante and raise bets and, if the dealer loses, the player wins his ante bet, at even money, and his raise bet, at odds according to the pay table; if the dealer and player tie, ante and raise bets push.