Monday, April 14, 2014

Casino Rules of 1857

In the spring of 1857.....the Nassau police commission sat down and established some rules and regulations over gambling within the city limits of Wiesbaden.  Since the casino was the only authorized place to gamble....it was chiefly meant for the customers who utilized the casino (the out-of-town crowd and the rich and elite).

Rule 1: Play could start at 11AM each day, and run for twelve hours....except for Sundays or holidays where casino gambling was stopped promptly at 3PM.

Rule 2: The dealer can only start play into action, when he utters: "Ca va!"  It basically means....all bets are now valid.  Only after uttering that word....will the game go into the next stage of play.

Rule 3: Roulette is treated slightly different than rule two.  Instead of "Ca va", the phrase uttered will be "Rien ne va plus"....which means don't put anymore more money on the table....the game is about to be played.

Rule 4: The casino bank is not responsible for errors of those playing.  If you were that stupid to walk in, then this rule erased blame on the casino operators.

Rule 5: At the game of Thirty and Forty or Black and White.....a poker-related game that French usually play but was widely accepted at Wiesbaden's casino....once the cards are cut by a bystander at the table....the dealer is no longer responsible for the outcome of the game.  Again, it protected the casino against losses.

Rule 6: Counterfeit or chipped coins, no payment is made.  One could say that counterfeit issues were always an issue at any casino, and the police rule on this simply fixed potential issues from happening.

Rule 7:  Paper money will not be accepted within the casino, for any game.  So, you had to deal with the casino bank, and buy their chips....redeeming your winnings later.

Rule 8: The casino bank will not loan money.  I should note, the city of Nassau operated a state-run pawn shop, with a separate list of rules.....to engage the loan industry and help the poor guys who showed up with only a minimum amount of cash to pay their resort bills.

Rule 9: Money limits were placed on various games.  For example, for Thirty and Forty, you were limited to 400 Fredrich d'or's (the Prussian gold coin currency at the time).  It should be noted that the Fredrich d'or currency was replaced within a year or two of the regulations set by the Nassau police on this issue.

Rule 10: If any accident befalls the roulette wheel....for any reason....then all bets are off.

(Source: Wiesbaden and Its Environs, published in 1864)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hmm, yeah, I already read about it, well, that was a good refreshment for my memory :) thanks!
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