“Whoa, slow down, Louie!” I hear you yelling from behind your computer monitor. “What in the world is a high roller? I mean, I’ve seen the term tossed around, but I have no idea what it actually is!” Well, first of all, dear reader, you don’t need to shout, I can hear you just fine. How this pre-written article can hear you in real time and respond to your inquiries is anyone’s guess (can we go with magic? Let’s go with magic), but I can hear you just fine even if you speak normally. So, what is a high roller? Well, there’s several definitions, but the one that matters to us is “one who is often seen gambling for more than 50 dollars per hand or game depending on the situation”. A high roller, as the name would suggest, often doesn’t bother with the smaller bets that most gamblers usually make and just goes straight for the big hand, employing a “high risk high reward” strategy.

High rollers are extremely important for casinos. Despite the fact that regular gamblers outnumber them ten to one, casinos still manage to make a good chunk of their profits precisely from them. As a result, both regular casinos and their online counterparts (such as the ones listed at highstakecasinos.co.uk) try to take veeeeeery good care of their high rollers and make sure they always come back. Most obviously, this takes the form of various features and bonuses that high rollers have access to which are off-limits to most gamblers. In physical locations, high rollers are often pampered with food and alcohol on the house and are given special attention and priority by the dealers. It’s not exactly fair, but it makes sense when you consider just what a huge part of casinos in general high rollers are. I’d say that it’s almost like being in a VIP club, except many casinos actually have VIP clubs for high rollers, so, you know…

These VIP clubs exist in both physical and online casinos and give their members access to special high-roller tables which are separate from the main casino. The atmosphere there is different, the air is more refined, so to speak. Gamblers are encouraged (often even required) to make higher bets than usual, but their rewards – both from the gambling and the gifts from the casino – are similarly higher. In online casinos, high rollers often receive gigantic bonuses to help them settle in better. When you’re browsing the offers for any online casino, try to find the high rollers deposit bonus and see for yourself! Chances are it’ll be at least 4 or 5 times higher than the regular deposit bonus, and under some circumstances I’ve even found bonuses which are ten times as high. If you can afford it, I’d say that there’s definitely plenty of bonuses, both literally and figuratively, to being a high roller!

With the Easter break behind and the weekend approaching, I have that lingering nostalgic feeling that I thought would be best expressed with some historical post. And since we all here are united by our love for casinos, what’s better than a short travel in time looking at how the game came about and developed through the years in good old Europe. Let’s have a look.

To know the exact date of casinos appearing first on the continent is pretty much impossible – the origins of gambling in general are lost somewhere between the third and fourth millennium BC. What we know for sure though, is that Europe is the pioneer in the casino business with Il Ridoto – founded back in 1638. You may find that interesting and I certainly found it quite fascinating that this Venetian “private room” (that’s the direct translation of the name) was government-owned. It also is the first official gambling house, with very strict rules applying not only to the games – dress code was very high-end and only the aristocracy at the time had access to that pleasure. The so-called Casini house at the time was the best place for business meetings as well with very…let’s call it “specific” atmosphere – girls, luxury drinks, you get the point.

In the early 19th century, French Emperor Napoleon (who was quite a gambler himself) issued a decree permitting gambling and opening gambling houses. Casinos started gaining popularity in France, promoted by people like the infamous Cardinal Mazarin. It is a little known fact that he introduced and pushed for the legalisation of casinos in order to compensate for the spending of King Louis XIV. The country’s treasury was empty and everything was spent on war. The plan worked and brought the economy back from bankruptcy by attracting upper-class players. The very term “roulette” literally means “wheel” in French. The inventor of the game is considered Pascal and it got widely popularised by another two frog-lovers – the brothers Francois and Louis Blanc. They introduced the single zero to the game. By the end of the eighteenth century roulette was present in every gambling house.

By the mid-nineteenth century, casinos were opening in Germany and England. It wasn’t all so easy though, as there were bans for any forms of hazardous games all over the place. In fact, by as far as 1873, the only legal and untouched safe haven for bookies and players alike was Monte Carlo and it became a sort of a capital for Europe’s gamblers.

In America, the first casino opened only in the early nineteenth century. Instead of luxurious appearance and guests, as we saw in the European example, there the venues were mostly conventional saloons (or pubs if you like, as we call them on this side of the pond). Their happiness didn’t last long either and soon with bans (which lasted until the mid-twentieth century) a lot of them moved over to Cuba. 1978 was marked by the beginning of the construction of the legendary Atlantic City. Some states allowed to conduct gambling only for indigenous people and many casinos began to appear on Indian lands.

Most recently, due to the active development of the Internet, online casinos are the top of the game, traveling across borders and making it much easier for players to gain access to more and better options. Most of the games are a complete imitation of the real live experience and even offer the ability for players to have live dealers and play real-time. The advantages of the online over land-based gambling are undeniable – you can play for free and practice without losing a penny and you can enjoy the games anytime, anywhere (no dress code, girls and luxury drinks, but hey, can’t have it all!).

So there, our trip is over, hope you enjoyed it, feel free to get in touch or just hang around for more of the same.