Slot machine
A slot machine, informally fruit machine, the slots, poker machine or simply slot, is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed. Many modern machines are equipped with a legacy lever in addition to the button. Slot machines include a currency detector that validates the money inserted to play, the machine pays off according to patterns of symbols visible on the front of the machine when it stops. Modern computer technology has resulted in variations on the slot machine concept, Slot machines are the most popular gambling method in casinos and constitute about 70 percent of the average US casinos income. The slot machine term derives from the slots on the machine for inserting and retrieving coins, fruit machine comes from the traditional fruit images on the spinning reels, such as lemons and cherries. Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York, U. S. developed a machine in 1891 which was a precursor to the modern slot machine. It contained five drums holding a total of 50 card faces and was based on poker and this machine proved extremely popular and soon many bars in the city had one or more of the machines.
Players would insert a nickel and pull a lever, which would spin the drums and the cards they held, the player hoping for a good poker hand. To make the better for the house, two cards were typically removed from the deck, the ten of spades and the jack of hearts. The drums could be rearranged to further reduce a players chance of winning, the bell gave the machine its name. Three bells in a row produced the biggest payoff, ten nickels, Liberty Bell was a huge success and spawned a thriving mechanical gaming device industry. Even when the use of these devices was banned in his home state after a few years. The Liberty Bell machine was so popular that it was copied by many slot machine manufacturers, thus in 1907, manufacturer Herbert Mills from Chicago produced a slot machine called the Operator Bell. By 1908 lots of bell machines were installed in most cigar stores, bowling alleys, early machines, including an 1899 Liberty Bell, are now part of the Nevada State Museums Fey Collection. Other early machines, such as the trade stimulator, gave out winnings in the form of fruit-flavoured chewing gums with pictures of the flavours as symbols on the reels, the popular cherry and melon symbols derive from this machine.
The BAR symbol now common in slot machines was derived from a logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company. In these cases, a mint vending machine was declared to be a device because by chance the machine would occasionally give the next user a number of tokens exchangeable for more candy. Despite the fact that the result of the next use would be displayed on the machine, the courts ruled that he appealed to the players propensity to gamble
Craps
Craps is a dice game in which the players make wagers on the outcome of the roll, or a series of rolls, of a pair of dice. Players may wager money against each other or a bank, because it requires little equipment, street craps can be played in informal settings. Craps developed from a simplification of the early English game of hazard and its origins are complex and may date to the Crusades, being influenced by French gamblers. There was a flaw in Bernards version of the game in which players could exploit the casino using fixed dice and taking advantage of the way players can bet with or against the dice thrower. An American dice maker named John H. Winn introduced the dont pass betting option in order to fix this problem, the game, first known as crapaud, reportedly owes its modern popularity to street craps. Street craps may be played by rolling the dice against a backstop, such as a curb or stair-stoop, or without a backstop, during World War II, street-style craps became popular among soldiers, who often played it using an Army blanket as a shooting surface.
With no backboard or sidewalk curb to hit against, this rise to presumed methods of dice control. Bank craps or casino craps is a game played by multiple or a single player betting on the outcome of the dice, the players and casino employees stand or sit around a large oval craps table. In most houses sitting at a table is discouraged unless the player is handicapped. With the table oriented with its long sides running left to right, along one side is the casinos bank – thousands of chips, stacked 20 high. Along the opposite side of the tub is usually a long, the left and right U-shaped sections of the table each have the same bet areas marked on the layout, with space for usually up to eight players to stand and place their bets on each side. An additional group of bets, referred to as proposition bets, is in the middle of the layout, the top rim of the table has horizontal grooves for players to keep their chips while not in play. Each employee watches for mistakes by the others because of the large number of bets.
In smaller casinos or at times of day, one or more of these employees may be missing. Responsibility of the dealers is adjusted, the stickman continuing to handle the center bets, by contrast, in street craps, there is no marked table and often the game is played with no back-stop against which the dice are to hit. The wagers are made in cash, never in chips, and are thrown down onto the ground by the players. There are no attendants, and so the progress of the game, fairness of the throws, each casino may set which bets are offered and different payouts for them, though a core set of bets and payouts is typical. Players take turns rolling two dice and whoever is throwing the dice is called the shooter, while acting as the shooter, a player must have a bet on the Pass line and/or the Dont Pass line
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France and the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes département. The urban area of Nice extends beyond the city limits. Nice is about 13 kilometres from the principality of Monaco, the city is nicknamed Nice la Belle, which means Nice the Beautiful, which is the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice, written by Menica Rondelly in 1912. The area of todays Nice contains Terra Amata, a site which displays evidence of a very early use of fire. Around 350 BC, Greeks of Marseille founded a permanent settlement and called it Nikaia, after Nike, through the ages, the town has changed hands many times. Its strategic location and port significantly contributed to its maritime strength, for centuries it was a dominion of Savoy, and was part of France between 1792 and 1815, when it was returned to Piedmont-Sardinia until its re-annexation by France in 1860. The citys main seaside promenade, the Promenade des Anglais owes its name to visitors to the resort, for decades now, the picturesque Nicean surroundings have attracted not only those in search of relaxation, but those seeking inspiration.
The clear air and soft light have particularly appealed to some of Western cultures most outstanding painters, such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Niki de Saint Phalle and Arman. Their work is commemorated in many of the museums, including Musée Marc Chagall, Musée Matisse. Nice has the second largest hotel capacity in the country and it is one of its most visited cities and it has the third busiest airport in France, after the two main Parisian ones. It is the capital city of the County of Nice. Nice was probably founded around 350 BC by the Greeks of Massalia, the ruins of Cemenelum are in Cimiez, now a district of Nice. In the 7th century, Nice joined the Genoese League formed by the towns of Liguria. In 729 the city repulsed the Saracens, but in 859 and again in 880 the Saracens pillaged and burned it, during the Middle Ages, Nice participated in the wars and history of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, during the 13th and 14th centuries the city fell more than once into the hands of the Counts of Provence, but it regained its independence even though related to Genoa.
The medieval city walls surrounded the Old Town, the landward side was protected by the River Paillon, which was covered over and is now the tram route towards the Acropolis. The east side of the town was protected by fortifications on Castle Hill, another river flowed into the port on the east side of Castle Hill. Engravings suggest that the area was defended by walls
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier is a 1, 979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. The Paris Opera now mainly uses the Palais Garnier for ballet, the Palais Garnier has been called probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or the Sacré Coeur Basilica. This opinion is far from unanimous however, the 20th-century French architect Le Corbusier once described it as a lying art, the Palais Garnier is a building of exceptional opulence. The style is monumental and considered Second-Empire Beaux-Arts style with axial symmetry in plan and these include very elaborate multicolored marble friezes and lavish statuary, many of which portray deities of Greek mythology. The principal facade is on the side of the building, overlooking the Place de lOpéra. Fourteen painters and seventy-three sculptors participated in the creation of its ornamentation, the two gilded figural groups, Charles Gumerys LHarmonie and La Poésie, crown the apexes of the principal facades left and right avant-corps.
They are both made of gilt copper electrotype, the facade incorporates other work by Gumery, Alexandre Falguière, and others. On the left and right lateral returns of the front facade are busts of the librettists Eugène Scribe and Philippe Quinault, when the Empire fell, work stopped, leaving unfinished dressed stonework. It is covered by a 13.5 metre diameter dome, two pairs of obelisks marking the entrances of the Rotunda to the north and the south. The interior consists of interweaving corridors, stairwells and landings allowing the movement of large numbers of people, rich with velvet, gold leaf, and cherubim and nymphs, the interior is characteristic of Baroque sumptuousness. The building features a ceremonial staircase of white marble with a balustrade of red and green marble. Its design was inspired by Victor Louiss grand staircase for the Théâtre de Bordeaux, the pedestals of the staircase are decorated with female torchères, created by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. When they were first fixed in two months before the opening of the building it was obvious to Garnier that they were too dark for the space.
With the help of two of his students, Pils had to rework the canvases while they were in place overhead on the ceiling and, at the age of 61, he fell ill. His students had to finish the work, which was completed the day before the opening and this hall 18 meters high,154 meters long and 13 meters wide was designed to act as a drawing room for Paris society. Its ceiling was painted by Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry and represents various moments in the history of music, the foyer opens into an outside loggia at each end of which are the Salon de la Lune and Salon du Soleil. The auditorium has a traditional Italian horseshoe shape and can seat 1,979, the stage is the largest in Europe and can accommodate as many as 450 artists. The canvas house curtain was painted to represent a draped curtain, complete with tassels, the ceiling area, which surrounds the chandelier, was originally painted by Jules Eugène Lenepveu
Casino
A casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. The industry that deals in casinos is called the gaming industry, casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions. There is much debate whether or not the social and economic consequences of casino gambling outweigh the initial revenue that may be generated. Some casinos are known for hosting live entertainment events, such as comedy, concerts. The term casino is a confusing linguistic false friend for translators, Casino is of Italian origin, the root casa originally meant a small country villa, summerhouse, or social club. In modern-day Italian, the term designates a bordello, while the gambling house is spelled casinò with an accent. Not all casinos were used for gaming, the Copenhagen Casino was a theatre, known for the mass public meetings often held in its hall during the 1848 Revolution, which made Denmark a constitutional monarchy.
Until 1937, it was a well-known Danish theatre, the Hanko Casino in Hanko, Finland—one of that towns most conspicuous landmarks—was never used for gambling. Rather, it was a hall for the Russian nobility which frequented this spa resort in the late 19th century and is now used as a restaurant. In military and non-military usage in German and Spanish, a casino or kasino is an officers mess, in Italian—the source-language of the word—a casino is either a brothel, a mess, or a noisy environment, while a gaming house is called a casinò. The precise origin of gambling is unknown and it is generally believed that gambling in some form or another has been seen in almost every society in history. From the Ancient Greeks and Romans to Napoleons France and Elizabethan England and it was closed in 1774 as the city government felt it was impoverishing the local gentry. In American history, early gambling establishments were known as saloons, the creation and importance of saloons was greatly influenced by four major cities, New Orleans, St.
Louis and San Francisco. It was in the saloons that travelers could find people to talk to, drink with, during the early 20th century in America, gambling became outlawed and banned by state legislation and social reformers of the time. However, in 1931, gambling was legalized throughout the state of Nevada, Americas first legalized casinos were set up in those places. In 1976 New Jersey allowed gambling in Atlantic City, now Americas second largest gambling city, most jurisdictions worldwide have a minimum gambling age. Customers gamble by playing games of chance, in cases with an element of skill, such as craps, baccarat, blackjack. Most games played have mathematically determined odds that ensure the house has at all times an overall advantage over the players and this can be expressed more precisely by the notion of expected value, which is uniformly negative
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning little wheel. The ball eventually loses momentum and falls onto the wheel and into one of 37 or 38 colored and numbered pockets on the wheel The first form of roulette was devised in 18th century France. A century earlier, Blaise Pascal introduced a form of roulette in the 17th century in his search for a perpetual motion machine. The game has played in its present form since as early as 1796 in Paris. The description included the house pockets, There are exactly two slots reserved for the bank, whence it derives its sole mathematical advantage and it goes on to describe the layout with. two betting spaces containing the banks two numbers and double zero. The book was published in 1801, an even earlier reference to a game of this name was published in regulations for New France in 1758, which banned the games of dice, hoca and roulette. The roulette wheels used in the casinos of Paris in the late 1790s had red for the single zero, to avoid confusion, the color green was selected for the zeros in roulette wheels starting in the 1800s.
In some forms of early American roulette wheels - as shown in the 1886 Hoyle gambling books, there were numbers 1 through 28, plus a single zero, a zero. The Eagle slot, which was a symbol of American liberty, was a slot that brought the casino extra edge. Soon, the tradition vanished and since the features only numbered slots. Existing wheels with Eagle symbols are rare, with fewer than a half-dozen copies known to exist. Authentic Eagled wheels in excellent condition can fetch tens of thousands of dollars at auction, in the 19th century, roulette spread all over Europe and the US, becoming one of the most famous and most popular casino games. A legend says that François Blanc supposedly bargained with the devil to obtain the secrets of roulette, the legend is based on the fact that the sum of all the numbers on the roulette wheel is 666, which is the Number of the Beast. In the United States, the French double zero wheel made its way up the Mississippi from New Orleans and this eventually evolved into the American style roulette game as different from the traditional French game.
The American game developed in the gambling dens across the new territories where makeshift games had been set up, whereas the French game evolved with style and leisure in Monte Carlo. However, it is the American style layout with its simplified betting and fast cash action, using either a single or double zero wheel, that now dominates in most casinos around the world. During the first part of the 20th century, the only towns of note were Monte Carlo with the traditional single zero French wheel. In the 1970s, casinos began to flourish around the world, by 2008 there were several hundred casinos worldwide offering roulette games
Charles Garnier (architect)
Jean-Louis Charles Garnier was a French architect, perhaps best known as the architect of the Palais Garnier and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Charles Garnier was born Jean-Louis Charles Garnier on 6 November 1825 in Paris, on the Rue Mouffetard and his father was originally from Sarthe, and had worked as a blacksmith and coachbuilder before settling down in Paris to work in a horse-drawn carriage rental business. He married Felicia Colle, daughter of a captain in the French Army, in life, Garnier would all but ignore the fact that he was born of humble origins, preferring to claim Sarthe as his birthplace. Garnier became an apprentice of Louis-Hippolyte Lebas, and after that a student of the École royale des Beaux-Arts de Paris. He obtained the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1848, at age twenty-three, the subject of his final examination was entitled, Un conservatoire des arts et métiers, avec galerie dexpositions pour les produits de lindustrie. He became a pensioner of the Académie de France à Rome from 17 January to 31 December 1849 and he traveled through Greece which provided him the subject of his fourth year submission, presented at the Paris Salon in 1853.
He visited Greece with Edmond About and Constantinople with Théophile Gautier and he worked on the Temple of Aphaea in Aegina where he insisted on polychromy. He was named, in 1874, member of the Institut de France, on 30 December 1860 the Second Empire of Emperor Napoleon III announced a competition for the design of a new, state-funded opera house. The old opera house, located on the rue Le Peletier, applicants were given a month to submit entries. There were two phases to the competition, and Garnier was one of about 170 entrants in the first phase and he was awarded the fifth-place prize and was one of seven finalists selected for the second phase. You have greatly improved your project since the first competition, whereas Ginain has ruined his, soon the thirty-five-year-old and relatively unknown Garnier began work on the building, which eventually would be named for him, the Palais Garnier. Many people had difficulty in deciding exactly what style he was trying to portray, when asked by Empress Eugénie in what style the building was to be done, he is said to have replied, Why Maam, in Napoleon Trois, and you complain.
Construction began in the summer of 1861, though setbacks would delay it for fourteen years. During the first week of excavation, a stream was discovered. It required eight months for the water to be pumped out, Garniers double-walled and bitumen-sealed cement and concrete foundation proved strong enough to withstand any possible leakages, and construction continued. The defeat of the French army by the Prussians at the Battle of Sedan in 1870 resulted in the end of the Second Empire. During the Siege of Paris and the Paris Commune in 1871, the opera house was finally inaugurated on 5 January 1875. The people who entered the building, spanning nearly 119,000 square feet, were generally awed by its immense size
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire.
After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD.
The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
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