Gambling has become a big tradition and a huge industry in the U.S. as well as all over the planet. Games of chance are simply fascinating to thousands of people because they offer an opportunity to earn a fortune. If you’ve ever been in a real casino, you have surely noticed that the atmosphere is incredibly mysterious and even eerily peculiar.
There are all sorts of characters in a casino, ranging from seemingly immortal elderly citizens, slot lurkers, card counters, excited tourists, and aspiring high rollers. What’s more, casino staff is a whole other story. All this leads to a lot of myths and strange facts surrounding casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and other gambling establishments across the globe.
Did you know that a famous food was invented in a casino? And did you ever think about how many people have sex in casinos? What’s more,
where is the largest casino in the world?
So, whether you love gambling or not, you will undoubtedly enjoy this list of the most bizarre facts about casinos and people who love to gamble.
1. You Can Choose to Ban Yourself from Casinos
Due to various gambling addiction policies, casinos in some U.S. states can give players the option to ban themselves from the establishments. Gambling addiction can make a player spiral out of control, so it’s not surprising that this rule exists.
For example, in Ohio, there is a “Voluntary Exclusion” program, and players can ban themselves from casinos for 1, 5, 10 years, or the rest of their lives. And in most places, when you ban yourself, you will not be able to remove the ban and come back.
2. The Gaming Floor Might Be Full of Pee
Some counselors have claimed that gambling addiction can cause players to lose control of their bodily functions. It can be so extreme that some problem gamblers can urinate in their pants or all over themselves. It’s also common for problem gamblers to wear adult diapers and keep playing if they wet themselves.
In 2007, an Indiana casino got a complaint from a player who noticed that some chairs were soaked in pee. There was another instance in 2015 when a gambler peed into a coin dispenser of a slot machine. So if you’re a regular gambler, choose your seat carefully next time and look around before you play.
3. Casinos Were the Birthplace of Sandwich
Back in Britain in the mid-1700s, a man named John Montagu had the noble title of Earl of Sandwich. According to the story, he was so obsessed with gambling and card games that he barely left the table at the Hellfire club in London.
When Montagu felt hungry, he didn’t want to get up, and instead, he ordered the servants to bring food. The gambler wanted them to place some meat between two bread slices. That way, he could eat while playing. Other avid gamblers caught on and simply told the servants to give them the “same as Sandwich!” And so, according to the legend, that’s how sandwich was born. Of course, it’s not exactly rocket science to make one, and it was probably done way before John Montagu’s idea. Nevertheless, that’s how this food type got its name.
4. A Drug for Parkinson’s Can Give You a Compulsive Urge to Gamble, Have Sex, and Masturbate
Some studies have shown that Mirapex, a drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease, can have some surprising side effects. It seems that doctors never warn patients about the side effects of the dopamine agonist. While it reduces tremors, it can lead to severe urges. Some of them include a sudden desire and uncontrollable urge for compulsive masturbation, sex, and gambling.
5. The Biggest Casino City
The claim that Las Vegas is the largest gambling city is actually a misconception. Namely, Macau, China, is the biggest. In comparison, the revenues in Macau were 5 times larger than Vegas’ back in 2012. Additionally, while Vegas’ revenue mostly comes from slots, Macau casinos bring in a lot of high rollers who prefer table games. In fact, 75% of the revenue from Macau comes from high rollers. And regarding the largest casino, it’s a tie between WinStar World (Las Vegas) and Venetian Macao (Macau).
6. Las Vegas Is Full of Sex and Undercover Cops
In a recent Reddit thread, anonymous casino employees wrote about some of the weirdest things that continuously happen in Las Vegas casinos. Some of the topics that came up most often were sex and undercover police officers. According to some posts, most people are completely oblivious to the fact that casinos are full of dirty and kinky activities.
Employees have written about accidentally entering bathrooms, stairwells, hallways, and other hidden places. They saw almost every sexual activity imaginable, including group sex, straight sex, gay sex, solo experimentation, paid sex, etc. Additionally, some posts said that Vegas casinos are full of cops disguised as players. Since the law doesn’t allow casinos to install cameras in bathrooms, undercover cops mostly lurk there.
7. It's Also Full of Special Trash Cans for Sex Toys
Now that you know people have done a lot of strange stuff all over your Vegas hotel room, we’ll let you in on another dirty secret.
There’s a rumor that each Vegas casino hotel has a special trash can used only for sex toys. Some employees have claimed that the cleaners take these trash cans and go through each room to collect the leftover and used sex toys. At the end of the day, the trash cans are always completely filled up with toys of all shapes and forms. It might be due to a large number of erotic shops all over the city. Sometimes, the staff keeps them, but they mostly get thrown away.
The toy that broke the record in one casino resort was a 3-foot long Moby, which is, in fact, the world’s most gigantic dildo. We’re not sure if it was even able to fit into the staff’s special trash can. Or into anything else, for that matter.