Over 40 billion dollars was spent in American casinos in 2018. In fact, the United States is a particularly large player in the global casino market, bringing in about one-third of the total global revenue.
With casinos being such a big business in the United States, it may come as no surprise that it’s developed its own culture.
For instance, there’s a long list of casino terminology that’s been built up over the years. We’ll talk about some of the most popular slang terms in the paragraphs below.
1. Black Book
We’ve all seen movies like Rain Man, 21, etc., where the main character counts cards, or in some other way cheats a casino. This may seem glorious on the big screen, but it can get you banned from casinos in reality.
In Nevada, the database of banned gamblers is known as the Black Book. It’s also normal to ban anybody who’s known to be involved in organized crime.
A similar term is ‘eighty-six’, which means to throw someone out.
2. Cage
This is where chips can be exchanged for money. At the beginning of your trip to the casino, and the end if you don’t lose everything, you typically visit the cage.
This exists whether you’re playing in a Las Vegas casino, or trying your hand at real money slots in an online casino.
3. Grind
Grinding is a gambling term, often referring to poker. It essentially means playing the long game.
Grinders are people who play games like poker or blackjack in an effort to win money slowly but consistently, rather than going for a big payout game like slots.
4. Washing
Distrust at the gaming table can be mutual, which is why it’s common practice for a dealer to rub their hands together before leaving a table. This shows both the players and the casino that they are not taking any chips from the game.
This isn’t to be confused with card washing, which is when a dealer shuffles the cards and moves them around on the table to fully mix them up.
5. All-In
Probably the most well-known bit of casino terminology, this is a term used by players to signal that they’ve put all their chips into the betting pot. They either really think they’re going to win, or they’re bluffing really hard.
It should be noted that if you’re not good at bluffing, please don’t do this. You will lose your money, and you’ll lose it fast.
Casino Terminology and Important Terms to Know
There is a lot of casino terminology out there. We’ve mentioned only some of these terms in the paragraphs above, but there are a lot more out there. There’s probably enough casino jargon to fill up a whole dictionary or more.
We encourage you to do more research on your own if you’re interested. Believe us when we say that you won’t be disappointed.
If you’re interested in language and want to know more modern words and slang terms, please keep browsing our site. You never know what you’ll find.
