80s Gambling And Casino Culture – A Trip Down Memory Lane!
Posted: September 25, 2024
Updated: September 25, 2024
-
How do you play old and new casino games online?
-
What did Vegas look like during the 80s?
-
80s Gambling and casino culture
Today we will introduce you to the 80s gambling and casino culture! There are many different things you can do online nowadays, but back in the 80s people were restricted to what casinos had to offer. With marketing expanding the target audience, more people started gambling, with soon the technology catching up to create the atmosphere we had back during the 90s.
Remember the 80s? Or perhaps you did not get to become a part of that era at all? Well, today we will take a trip down memory lane to evoke the essence of a much easier and probably cheaper era, which sought to transform Las Vegas into the luxurious state it is today. People had no internet back then, and nothing was as digital as it is today.
Therefore, while the streets were smaller and slightly more dangerous, at the same time, we had much more people interacting with each other on the streets. Yet, with the biggest technological advancement in history, the world was in a state of change. A sense of cultural enlightenment reached humankind, yet we still had much to learn from our mistakes to be made. Register at any of the online casino sites in the US to see the results of these changes!
The Era of Opulence – 80s Gambling And Casino Culture
One thing to know about the 80s is the fact that humans did not know, nor did they care about the economic damage and environmental impact of their actions. While it is a bad thing in retrospect, we believe it wasn’t truly the 80s that contributed the most to the bad things. However, even if it was the time, people likely wouldn’t have worried all too much. This is why we would see the streets being smaller, and the casinos being more opulent. Whenever you walked, you were met with luxury and glitter.
If you are looking at the timeline of Las Vegas casinos, you’d likely recognize that most of the casinos in Vegas were created in the 80s, or at the very least, it was the era of creative concepts. The 80s were an era of transition, where humans had a lot more meaning in their lives, yet this meaning began to fade into today’s consumer society, and it was the first era that showed the signs. Register at Bovada Casino to try the 80s casino games online!
The Streets of Las Vegas Two Decades Ago
If you stepped on the streets of Vegas in the 80s, you would realize that things are different. In the 80s gambling and casino culture were also dependent on the economy and technological availability. Fashion and self-expression were much more important, and people also lived up to standards much more than nowadays. Due to the climate, it was raining much more than today. According to Reddit, one of the most noteworthy mentions in Vegas was the cheap food deals.
Most claim the food was much cheaper, but not nearly as delicious as it was today. On top of all that, the streets were slightly more dangerous, just like everywhere around the world.
Public safety was not as common as it is today, and the streets lacked proper camera equipment. Therefore, we could easily say that the wildness of the 80s made casinos more fond of people who wanted to just socialize and play games. In conclusion, during the 80s, marketing made it so that casinos became a thing for everyone, unlike in the 70s where you had to be a part of a richer clique.
The Celebrities Of The 80s Gambling And Casino Culture
Another thing that became prominent during the 80s was the presence of celebrities. As Las Vegas and Atlantic City were recognized as entertainment cities, soon those who entertained sought to make a fortune in an atmosphere they loved. One thing was clear in these two cities: They did not care for the societal standards.
No matter what happened, they made sure that artists could express themselves as freely as they could, ignoring all of the general ethical expectations when it came to themes. This tradition evolved to today’s free-world Vegas, where we could easily spot some of the best celebrities in Vegas just enjoying their work without restrictions. According to Discover Music, during the 80s we ran into the following celebrities as we were walking the floors of different casinos:
- Sammy Davis Jr.
- Cher
- Engelbert Humperdinck
- The Osmonds
- Andy Williams
- Johnny Mathis
- Diana Ross
- Fats Domino
- Gladys Knight
- Chuck Berry
- Carl Perkins
- Hal Linden
- Frank Sinatra (Even though he didn’t like the change from the 70s)
The Rise of Home Gambling
Technology marked an important point in the 80s gambling and casino culture. While casinos remained the focal point of gambling culture, the 1980s also saw the beginning of home gambling. This was partly due to the technological revolution of the time, which introduced personal computers and gaming consoles into people’s homes. Games like Activision’s “Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack” (released for Atari in 1981) are still among some of the best video games for gamblers.
The increasing popularity of home gambling also fueled the rise of private poker games and other betting activities in social circles. This casual, at-home gambling environment allowed people to enjoy the thrill of betting without having to visit a physical casino. Essentially, this was the beginning of the modern-day era where you could play online casino games without having to even step out of your pajamas!
Pop Culture And The 80s Gambling And Casino Culture
If you know James Bond, or ever heard of Lady Gaga’s poker face, then you probably understand the importance of media and pop culture in gambling. See, gambling is still a rather expensive leisure activity/hobby. From the 70s it had a popular image of gangsters and corruption, even danger. Therefore, the casino industry sought to reshape the idea of gambling by utilizing pop culture.
According to Our Culture, the public image of gambling has evolved, with pop culture playing a major role in reshaping its reputation. While once seen primarily as a vice, figures like James Bond helped lend a sense of sophistication to casinos, particularly with iconic scenes involving baccarat. Television shows regularly feature gambling, whether in sitcom plots or more serious crime dramas like Peaky Blinders, and entire shows are dedicated to gambling competitions.
Where To Play Online Casino Games Today?
Now that you know a little more about the 80s gambling and casino culture, we are here to talk about some of the online opportunities today! See, nowadays nothing that happened in the 80s is relevant, other than us discussing mostly the actions of celebrities in the past. The 80s was a hot pot of different cultures clashing.
We had punks rising to fame, while we also had the art of free-expression elegance constantly creating not only changes in music and gambling but also in fashion. The streets looked different, with everyone using almost the same cars, and of course, with more sky to see. In conclusion, the 80s was a more real era, where hustling became a theme on the streets, soon to be overshadowed by the neon culture of the 90s. Register at Bovada Casino to try both old and new casino games!