Casinos have a long and celebrated history. If the historians are to be believed — and why wouldn’t they be? — then the first ever casino opened its doors way back in 1638. With some 385 years under its belt, it should come as no surprise that there have been plenty of casino games invented over the years.
Not all of these games, however, have stood the test of time. Even games that were once hugely popular, such as the card game Faro, are rarely if ever found in casinos.
But let’s not focus on those ones. Let’s focus on the games that continue to do well in both real-world and online casinos. Here are the top five most popular casino games around.
Slots
Slot machines are far and away the most popular casino game. Take a trip to a Las Vegas casino, and you’ll find significant chunks of floor space taken up by slot machines, which have progressed significantly from the days of the “one-armed bandit’ devices we associate with the 19th century. Today, there’s a wide variety in the style and narratives of slot machines. You’ll find the most variety at online casinos, which have the capacity to host many more slot games than real-world casinos.
Roulette
Roulette is the most popular non-card casino game after slots. This classic game, which has a history stretching back some 350 years, was designed by accident. The roulette wheel was invented by Pascal Blaise, a famous 17th-century French mathematician, who was hoping to create a perpetual motion machine. That didn’t quite work out, but happily, his device would be repurposed as the world’s most popular game of luck. Given the cost of the machine, many land-based casinos don’t have roulette available, but it’s possible to play the game online; though the mechanisms that drive the online version may be slightly different, the outcome is equally as random as what Blaise’s machine produces.
Blackjack
Blackjack is the most popular casino card game. As with roulette, blackjack has been around for a long old time — it was invented around 1700 and has been popular virtually ever since. This game is appealing to players for a number of reasons. For one thing, it strikes the right balance between simplicity and complexity; it’s easy to learn how to play blackjack, but players can also take a deep dive into advanced strategies that add new levels to the game. It’s a game that caters to all levels and tastes.
Craps
If a game becomes popular in the streets, then it’s nailed on to become a smash hit in the casinos. That’s what happened with craps, which became popular in the period following World War II. The widespread popularity of craps meant that it was inevitable that it would make its way into the casinos.
It’s usually the liveliest part of the casino because everyone is playing on the same team; strangers celebrate victories and commiserate defeats together. This game is mostly found in North American casinos than in their European counterparts, where, for whatever reason, it didn’t quite hit the same level of popularity.
Baccarat
Baccarat is probably the ultimate classic casino game. It’s a little traditional — it was James Bond’s favorite game — and not always offered in casinos, especially smaller casinos, but it has a loyal following. It’s somewhat similar to blackjack, but very much has its own identity. As with other games on this list, its history goes back a long way. According to legend (and Google), it was created in Italy way back in the 1400s!
…And Plenty of Variations
Like the games mentioned above? Then good news — there’s plenty more where that came from. The most popular games have been around for a long time, and, as such, tend to have many different variations. Take blackjack, for instance. There are more than twenty variations of that game, many of which — including Spanish 21 and Blackjack Switch — you tend to find online. Even roulette can be a different game, depending on where you play it.
