The gentlemen in the following list may not know what an online casino is but they sure did appreciate the thrill of gambling. All of them earned fame and glory because of their talents and there is hardly anyone in today’s world not knowing their names and works. But I bet not many of you know that they used to enjoy gambling a lot! A quick fact for our younger section of readers: online casinos are 24 years old and long before their birth the world knew and loved gambling just as much as we do now.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
I recently read Dostoevsky’s novel the ‘Gambler’ which many believe is an autobiography reflecting on his own addiction to roulette. While reading, I felt this man’s love for gambling. But he got to know betting in a way we barely know it today. His first encounter with roulette was at Wiesbaden’s casino back in 1863. As one of the most beautiful casinos in the world, I’d say Dostoevsky had a great start and the love was instant. Unfortunately, this passion brought a lot of trouble for the genius writer as it turned into a gambling addiction. Ironically, the short novel (which I totally recommend) was written with the purpose of paying off some of his accumulated debts.
Giacomo Casanova
I’m sure that gambling is not what pops up in your mind when thinking about the Italian writer and lawyer – Casanova. His famous ‘womanizer’ reputation was way more prominent than anything else he did. Around the 18th century, gambling was a popular activity in the ’high circles’ and he totally fell for it. In his memoirs, he even admitted having been tutored by professional gamblers and wrote about his strong emotional reactions when losing significant amounts of money. As opposed to Dostoevsky, Casanova never experienced a gambling addiction, he mostly played for the quick money or to get the desired attention of a certain lady.
King Henry VIII
This accomplished leader in England’s history was famous for the separation from Roman Catholic Church, for having six wives and guess what else? Of course, being England’s Number One Gambler! He loved playing cards and dice, but his favourite game was ‘Bragg’ which is believed to be a very old version of poker as we know it today. According to sources he was rarely lucky and used to lose lavish amounts competing against monarchy leaders and other royalties. He even lost the beloved Jesus Bells of St Paul’s church on a single roll of dice. As a result, his opponent Sir Miles Partridge was punished with murder by the king himself. This made it very difficult for him to find gambling companions in the future.
And now, a few centuries later when online gambling rules the industry, it would all look a bit different for our three gamblers! Let’s see, I picture Dostoevsky taking a break from writing by loading up his favourite online casino. Meanwhile, Casanova is walking through the busy streets of Venice and gambling on his smartphone. And lastly, King Henry gets to lose a huge amount of money at a secret poker tournament. I know it’s a weird picture but if you want to join these three gentlemen on their time-travel-gambling mission, visit www.bestonlinecasinos.org.uk to make sure you land safely on the top online casinos of our century!