The world of casinos is a microcosm characterized by a whole set of rules, strategies, colors, elements, and settings that is impossible to summarize in a few lines. But we bet (it must be said!) that there is at least one of these fun facts about casinos you have never heard of so far.
Super Big Bertha, or one of the biggest slot machines in the world
Located in Bally’s Casino, Las Vegas, Super Big Bertha originated as an upgrade to another super-slot machine called Big Bertha. Its ancestor was already mammoth: powered by five-horsepower electric motors, it cost $100 for each pull. The updated version was even more colossal: built in the ‘50s at the cost of Can$150k, it was over 2 meters high and 2 meters wide and featured eight reels with 20 symbols each, returning more than 25 billion possible combinations! Winning the jackpot with so many combinations was almost impossible: according to calculations, you would have to play 15 billion times to get a chance to win. Yet, due to its size, it became one of the biggest attractions for gamblers all over the world, and in 2001 a woman did even manage to win.
Why casinos’ interiors are the way they are
If you have ever attended a physical casino, you’d probably remember that there is no clock. Nowhere. The lack of clocks in physical casinos is not one of those things in gambling which are left to chance: gamers should not think or worry about the passing of time while they gamble, rather keep focusing on the game.
The focus on gamblers’ psychology is also enhanced by the bright colors which characterize casino interiors, as well as the sound of slot machines and the lack of windows (because, again, natural light would be a distraction for gamblers).
All crazy about fruit machines
When we talk about slot machines, it is impossible to not mention fruit machines. Indeed, they are extremely well-known and probably the most popular both in physical and online casinos. But how come that fruits and not any other object was originally chosen as symbols to put on slot machines?
The reason dates back to XIX, precisely to the Prohibition era, a time when gambling was forbidden. The first slot machines featuring fruit symbols started to peep out as a way to bypass the law against gambling, awarding gamers with candies or chewing gums whose flavor was the one of the winning fruit.
As gambling returned legal, fruit machines didn’t disappear, but candies and chewing gum were simply replaced by many, many dollars.