This revised, updated, and extended new edition of the original, award-winning Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling traces the development of gaming from the first rolls of the bones in paleolithic time to the current growth of online poker.
Some of the topics covered include:
Early gambling
The first casino
Frontier gambling and gamblers
The development of Monte Carlo in the 19th century
How American illegal gambling became such a lucrative business
Reno's stint as the nation's gambling captial
The rise of Las Vegas
The role of the mob in building up the Las Vegas gaming industry
Atlantic City's spin of the wheel
Indian casinos, riverboats, and nation-wide casino expansion
Las Vegas strikes back
The brief history of online gambling
The recession's impact on Las Vegas
The Asian casino explosion of the past seven years
If you're curious about why and how casinos have become so widespread, this book has some of the answers.