Canadian casinos were legalized approximately 30 years ago, with the first one opening in the province of Manitoba. Many other provinces in Canada soon followed, as more types of gambling were allowed besides slot machines and bingo. Canadian casinos offer a variety of games; including poker, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps, and slot machines. The requirements to gamble in a Canadian casino include proving with a valid birth certificate as well as photo identification that you are 19 or over.The province of Ontario has three large casinos, all operated by U.S. gaming companies, with the same amenities and attractions as the U.S., except for complimentary alcohol, which must be purchased in separate lounges. Casino Windsor, located south of Detroit, has 100,000 feet of gaming space, 3,000 slot machines, and six variations of craps. A unique attraction at the Casino Windsor is the “Big Nickel Mine” slot machine area, with a large variety of five-cent games. Another attraction of the casino is the high-limit area, with more games, restaurants, and bars. Casino Rama, located north of Toronto, offers 70,000 square feet of gaming area, 2,200 slot machines, and over 100 table games, as well as great entertainment. Casino Niagara, a 3-level casino across the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls, is one of the most successful in Ontario due to the popularity of its location. There is over 90,000 square feet of gaming space, 2,700 slot machines, and 144 table games, as well as an 80-foot dome-covered atrium featuring nightly lightning displays.The province of Quebec has several casinos, all smoke-free, such as the elegant Casino de Montreal, one of the 10 largest in the world in the amount of gaming equipment. The Casino de Montreal has a number of table games, the latest slot machines, and live entertainment. The province of British Columbia has the Great Canadian Casino – View Royal, with 35,000 square feet of gambling area and 435 slot machines, and the Cascades Casino, 50,000 square feet with 27 table games and 530 slot machines. In addition, the province of Alberta has several casinos, such as Frank Sisson’s Silver Dollar Casino, with 80,000 square feet, 22 table games, and over 400 slot machines.The increase in revenue from gambling will encourage the legalization and addition of casinos in Canada. Favorable
currency exchange rates, high payoff percentages for slot players, and no Canadian taxes on winnings attract more
and more gamblers to try their luck.

“Teaching and learning are not the simple transmission of a set body of knowledge from an authoritarian teacher and to a passive classroom of students.” -Bill Gates on Education ReformWhether or not you like or agree with Bill Gates, you have to acknowledge his business and individual successes, and his passion for education reform. One thing that we should all agree upon is that the status quo is not acceptable. We need to find new ways to engage students at critical points in their development to insure that FUNDAMENTALS are not just learned and understood, but become second nature to them. Back before calculator were invented, students had to memorize multiplication tables. How many 5th graders today can rip out the multiplication tables as well as their parents?Some private schools and even charter schools that do not have their hands tied by the same constraints as general public schools have implemented new techniques designed to engage their students by introducing practical applications to fundamental mathematics and statistics. One of these techniques is the use of casino games.Games of most any type capture the attention of students and adults alike. Take the game of Monopoly for example…the rule are laid out, the players each formulate their own individual strategy based upon the rules, there is an element of chance with the dice and the cards, and there is ultimately a winner. These are the primary element of just about any ‘game’, and games that help teach while in the process of playing them are a Win-Win for everyone. The one feature of all casino games is that they have all been developed by mathematicians and time tested to produce a statistical advantage for the casino, otherwise places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City wouldn’t exist. The fun part for the students is in learning and playing the games (not for real money of course), and CRACKING THE CODE of the statistical house advantage. Besides for learning mathematics and statistics, they will also learn that they CAN’T WIN in the long run!
 
Examples of Casino Game MathRoulette is a popular casino game and probably the easiest example for illustrating mathematics and statistics. The roulette wheel has the numbers 1-36 plus 0 and 00 making for a total of 38 possible outcomes from a single spin. If you place a bet on a single number on the board and win, the casino will pay you 35-1. In this example, the casino has a statistical advantage of 5.26%. How did we get that? There is a probability of 1/38 that the player wins 35 times the bet, and a 37/38 chance that the player loses their bet. The expected value is:−137⁄38 + 351⁄38 = −0.0526 (5.26% house edge)The ‘House Edge’ is what keeps casinos alive and well. It means that for every $1 bet the casino will statistically make 5.26 cents on this particular bet.Another bet in the game of roulette is called the “Top Line” where the player places a single wager which covers 1,2,3,0,00 (five numbers) and will pay 6-1 if any of those numbers are spun. In this case, the expected value is:-1x 33⁄38 + 65⁄38 = −0.0789 (7.89% house edge)Which bet will cost the player the most money in the long run?Every bet on the roulette wheel (and on virtually every bet on every game in a casino) has a house edge, so more than others as you can see.Another example is the game of Craps where 2-dice are used. Understanding the probabilities of rolling a given number using a pair of dice is critical to being able to calculate the house edge on any given bet.
 
2 (1): 1-13 (2): 1-2, 2-14 (3): 1-3, 2-2, 3-15 (4): 1-4, 2-3, 3-2, 4-16 (5): 1-5, 2-4, 3-3, 4-2, 5-17 (6): 1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, 6-18 (5): 2-6, 3-5, 4-4, 5-3, 6-29 (4): 3-6, 4-5, 5-4, 6-310 (3): 4-6, 5-5, 6-411 (2): 5-6, 6-512 (1): 6-6
 
Two dice with six sides each which produces 6×6=36 possible combinations with symmetrical distribution of the numbers. For a one roll bet on the number 12 the casino will pay 30-1. What is the probability of rolling a 12? How do you calculate the house edge on this bet?
 
Endless Possibilities for WorkshopsThese examples show just a few of the bets on a few of the more popular casino games. These are the easy ones to illustrate and calculate. Throw cards and slot machines with virtual reels and jackpots into the mix and you will have an endless array of practical examples ever increase complexity into the underlying calculations. The professional dealers with iHostPoker have volunteered their time to perform educational workshops to assist the teachers in bringing these important disciplines to light and hopefully making a difference in the education experience for a few, and the well-being of our community as a whole.

Online casinos have become so popular and their variety is so huge that it’s becoming harder and harder to choose the right one between them all. To entice new casino players some casinos would offer great casino bonus promotions from no deposit casino bonuses to exclusive High Rollers bonuses. Some casinos are paying more attention to their games, customer support, methods of payment, language options, free phone numbers, news letters, games strategy lessons, live casino dealers it is even possible to watch free strip shows. But for the players one of the most important thing is to find a right game where they can beat the casino. Of course one the games that gives an advantage over the casino depending of the rules and casino bonus offered is Blackjack.For the Blackjacks casino players the variety of Blackjack games offered is frustrating because the difference of the game rules, stakes limits, casino bonus offered, multi-player options etc.But there may be a way of disclosing the actual differences between the blackjack casino games offered that a casino has available without actually having to download and play at an online casino in accordance with the casino software provided by most popular ones?Some online casinos use their own custom designed software but most famous and reliable online casinos use software supplied by companies specialising to develop casino games software. There are of course the biggest and most trusted ones supplying high quality casino software: Microgaming, Real Time Gaming, and Playtech.The thing to remember is that each of these software providers have drastically different suites of blackjack games, so all you have to do is find out what software provider the casino you are interested in is using and you will know exactly what variations of blackjack they can offer and also the quality of the games themselves. Below is a brief overview of the three main software providers and the different blackjack variations they all offer.Microgaming casinos is perhaps the internet’s largest casino software provider. They offer the largest number of blackjack variations totalling up to an amazing 20 different types of blackjack. This is an amazing number but does not mean that Microgaming is the best. If you haven’t tried other casinos using other software you should do so and judge for yourself which is best for you. Two of the featured variations of blackjack available with Microgaming software is Multihand Atlantic City Blackjack.Like classic blackjack it’s played with a single 52 card deck, but you can play up to 5 hands at a time. Microgaming also offers Multi-hand Bonus Blackjack, uses 2 decks of 52 cards. In this game there is a bonus bet feature that allows you to make a bonus bet at the beginning of each hand, and it pays out on the 1st two cards.Real Time Gaming or, RTG, doesn’t offer as many versions of blackjack as Microgaming but the selection is still good and the execution is top quality as well.Playtech prides itself on the fact that they offer blackjack variations that use anywhere up to 4 to 8 standard decks, and have very good casino bonuses. Playtech casino software contains very realistic game play, whether it’s blackjack or any other casino game. Of the top three software platforms mentioned here, Playtech casinos offer the fewest Blackjack variations but the quality it still top notch. The major Blackjack game Playtech casinos offer is Blackjack Switch, which uses 6 decks of 52 cards, and all of these decks are shuffled between hands. The biggest difference with this game is that all cards are dealt face up and the Player receives 2 hands. Hope this helps you to get a handle on what casinos offer what blackjack variations.