The world of casino has always seemed surrounded by mystery, glamour and originality to those watching from the outside tempted by it, but never daring to enter. From behind the closed doors of casinos amazing stories surfaced, telling of fabulous wins, huge losses, tricks, game tactics, odd player habits or spectacular show-downs.

Players and viewers alike told stories which never cease to amaze profanes. Such stories have inspired movie scripts or books, consolidating a place for casinos in history. Americans, for example, can enjoy reading about the gambling experiences of famous players on a dedicated site. The site is called www.gamblingstories.net and is open to everyone who has a story to share. There are also sites which rank the most famous players in the world as well as the best stories. The first two places in such a ranking are taken by two amazing stories. One tells of the origin of “the dead-man’s hand“, which came from Wild Bill who was shot in the head while playing poker. His last hand contained two aces and two eights, of spades and clubs. The second-best story was of a marathon-game between Johnny Moss and Nick Dandalos, “The Greek“. The contest was held in 1949, in the Binions Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas and went on for 5 months during which the players only paused for sleep.

Moss finally went on to win 4 mil- lion Dollars. Also present in the top is former US president Richard Nixon, which allegedly fi- nanced his first presidential elec- tion campaign with money won at poker. He spoke in his autobiog- raphy about his passion for the game: “I noticed that those who get a good hand tend to speak very low and very little; when they get a bad hand though, they speak loudly and blow their cov- er.“ He is not the only celebrity present in the world of gambling. The likes of writers, scientists, politicians, artists, businessmen have all gave in to the charms of gambling at a certain point of their lives. Einstein, Mark Twain, Fiodor Dostoievski make only for a few examples, but the list is very large.

Things haven’t evolved that much in our country however, al- though it is quite possible that gambling will enjoy a lot more at- tention and visibility in the near future. The high-rollers or VIP players still try to avoid the public eye, due to the local impression of casinos, as a place of vice and doom. Sadly, the art of gambling, the pleasure of playing and the entertainment itself are not the el- ements which describe the im- age of casinos, but money, opu- lence and displaying a certain status. Ms. Carmen Joita, Mar- keting & PR Manager at the Hilton Grand Casino spoke to us about this misconception: “A friend from Cluj was in town for a business meeting, after which we would spend some time before he left. I invited him to visit me at the Casino. He never played be- fore, he was actually afraid to play and I noticed he became a little nervous while I gave him a tour around the casino and showed him the games at the Grand Casino. My intention was to prove him that a casino can be regarded as a means of enter- tainment, of spending quality time rather than a sure way to his fourth try he got a pair of aces, which was good, because at least he could have won back the stake. He kept the two aces and he pressed start. The surprise was that he got two more aces and a jack and the machine displayed a win of 2000 RON. He went on to play and got a few two pairs and even a full house. He left with prof- it and also did acknowledge that he had a great time.“

Although not very consistent, Romanian casino folklore has its highpoints. In an interview for “Romania Libera“, Andrei Firi- mescu, marketing manager at the Casino Palace told of an Israeli player which won 75,000 Euro in three hands, a few years ago. He bet a large amount on two roulette tables, and his decision to leave one bet for the next wheel proved very inspired. Oth- ers apply the Martingale method hoping to win at roulette, which says you should constantly dou- ble the amount lost, obviously re- quiring a lot of money. Some would try anything in order to win, including taking care of the small- est details: if his usual seat at the table is free, if the atmosphere is right to allow him to concentrate, if he has his favorite drink, if the dealer is nice and so on.

Whether incredibly tranquil or highly volcanic, all players are alike when standing at the game table. They say that here, every- thing relies on psychology and fine knowledge of the human spir- it. Everyone plays a role, and ges- tures, attitude or voice can tell the story of a bad hand or a pair of aces. Daniel Negreanu, the fa- mous poker player also known as “Kid Poker“, emphasized the fol- lowing while speaking about his initiation in the game: “Year after year, I was gathering information about the players, about the way the reacted in tense situations.

And perhaps most important, I was learning to control my own emotional status to the highest ex- tent possible.“ A lot of casino visi- tors have also noticed the unwrit- ten rules of such places, de- signed specifically to allow the customers to disconnect from the outside world. Time seems to freeze in a casino, there are no watches, while the beautiful girls, the appealing food, plentiful liquor and the chill-out music keep the players busy, determining them not to leave the game table. The dealers also comply with a casino ritual, providing the way they should interact with customers, their posture, way of walking, when to smile, what is and what isn’t confidential. Each detail in- side the casino is finely tuned, like a Swiss watch. All you have to do is visit such a place and you will be convinced. There is a lot to be discovered, analyzed, and if you do get the taste of entertainment and adrenaline rushing through your veins, then surely you will have a lot to speak about.

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