In fact, the club’s first owner, John Aspinoll, teamed up with some of London’s most notorious gangland figures – including one Mr Billy Hill, who was fond of carving a V into his victim’s faces with a razor – to take his patrons for vast sums of money with a scam known as The Big Edge.

They ran the Clermont’s decks through a machine that fractionally bent the cards to denote their value, then wrapped them back in their cellophane and delivered them to the club. Readers were trained to interpret these tiny bends, and the house’s advantage increased to a 60:40 percent edge.

Over a few months this added up to millions. One of the gangsters involved described the scam as ‘like robbing Fort Knox and the Bank of England at the same time – just a lot easier.”

David was over the moon with his £10,000 pay out – until he died crashing the sports car he’d bought with the winnings.

William Hill now take a bet a month that David shouldn’t have been paid at all: they’re giving odds at 500/1 that the moon landings were a Cold War hoax.

He had a $50,000 stake and no idea how he was going to pull it off until, whilst losing $10,000 at cards, he overheard talk of two grandmasters on their way to a prestigious chess tournament.

Mason offered to bet his remaining $40,000 that his companion, Isabel, could play both grandmasters at once and gain a stalemate with at least one of them.

An admiral, thinking him one iceberg short of a disaster, accepted the bet; Mason’s only proviso was that spectators would watch just one game in case they disturb Isabel’s concentration.

A large crowd gathered to watch the madman’s fiancée lose abysmally, but she dashed between tables, countering every move until, after hours of play and mounting humiliation, one of the grandmasters offered a draw.

Mason’s ploy had the simplicity of true genius: when one grandmaster made a move, Isabel duplicated it on the other board, pitting the two grandmasters against each other. Even true genius couldn’t save Mason, however: he died clinging to a raft in icy waters.

SuperCasino offers a first deposit bonus of up to £200 to welcome new players, matching pound for pound 100 per cent of any first cash deposit. Fantastic, you may be thinking, but SuperCasino doesn’t stop the windfalls there. It will also match 100 per cent of any second deposit, up to £200, and 50 per cent of a third deposit. This gives new SuperCasino players an amazing boost to their casino kitty which means that they can play more games and potentially earn more winnings.

Whatever a player’s game of choice, SuperCasino has an authentic casino experience to suit. Card games such as Blackjack and Poker are popular with those who prefer the more serious casino games; while those just looking for a spot of easy to play fun will enjoy the range of colourful, themed arcade games available to play at SuperCasino.com.

However, while SuperCasino.com offers a wide variety of card, table and arcade games, its speciality is roulette. Offering live roulette, both televised and streamed online, for that authentic ‘as it happens’ casino experience, SuperCasino prides itself on offering the best live roulette experience possible.

SuperCasino fans can enjoy the interactivity of playing live televised roulette games hosted by friendly, professionally trained presenters and croupiers, when they tune in to Channel Five every night or Sky Channel 866 every afternoon. These games are also streamed live to the internet, so they can be played either online or by phone for ultimate flexibility.

Other roulette games are also offered where a handcrafted, automated roulette wheel is used, so that players can still get that live, authentic experience, whether they choose to play presented roulette or not.

For the ultimate in modern convenience Live Roulette and Roulette Express Premium can even be downloaded as mobile applications that can be played on the go.

Roulette is a popular casino game as it’s simple to understand, easy to play and offers a flexibility of stake. It’s also a real casino classic and that heavy wheel is associated with a genuine casino experience.

The generous SuperCasino welcome bonus means that roulette fans can enjoy many more roulette games for their money. Or alternatively, they could mix it up and try out a variety of other casino games with the casino bonus. Arcade games are great for when easy play escapism is needed, whereas involving card games are just the ticket for when the brain needs a bit of a workout.

While SuperCasino can’t promise anyone a windfall, it can offer fantastic value for money with not one but two amazing ‘double your money’ welcome bonuses for extra gaming fun and a better chance of winning. Mythical money tree seeds not required!

Shakespear

During a 24 hour stint at the gaming tables of The Shakespeare’s Head in 1762, The Earl of Sandwich finally succumbed to hunger pangs but, unwilling to leave the table, asked staff for “a piece of meat between two bits of bread”. His fellow gamblers followed suit, and the sandwich was born.

Lunchtimes just wouldn’t be the same without a game of cards.

The magical and supernatural is becoming ever more popular, with many fans now counting down the days to the new Twilight movie, and illusionists like Brit-born Dynamo achieving cult, celebrity status. Yet, when it comes to casino games, it’s important that the methods employed are transparent and fair.

There are many reasons why SuperCasino is the longest-running and most popular online TV casino. One reason is because it offers players an authentic casino-style roulette experience, through a medium that is convenient for them.

Players can enjoy a range of casino games, either online or played live during one of SuperCasino’s fantastic televised casino game shows. When it comes to roulette, a range of live games are available, each having the fact that they do not use a computer generated wheel in common.

While some online casino game providers may use a computer generated wheel, SuperCasino does things differently. Whether you choose to play live roulette games hosted by a friendly presenter and croupier, or the faster paced live roulette autowheel games, you are guaranteed to be playing with a genuine handcrafted casino-grade roulette wheel.

A SuperCasino gamer has the choice to play along with a professionally trained croupier, or against a fully automated wheel, secure in the knowledge that they are getting a genuine casino experience without any computer generated trickery or pre-recordings. The wheel spins and the ball drops live, putting players in the thick of exciting real-life casino action.

Those who enjoy the interactive experience of playing along with televised, presenter led games should tune in to channel Five nightly and Sky channel 866 every afternoon, to join friendly roulette professionals in exciting live action games.

Alternatively, those who prefer to get straight down to business without the banter can choose from Live Roulette Express, Live Roulette Express Premium and Double Up Roulette, on Sky Channel 866 or online at SuperCasino.com.

As a real treat, SuperCasino even offers a deposit bonus of up to £200, to welcome new players – and the great promotions don’t stop there as they also offer the same 100 per cent bonus on second deposits, and a 50 per cent bonus on third deposits too!

Those who believe that variety is the spice of life can also try their hand at a wide range of other fantastic casino games on the SuperCasino website, perhaps using their casino bonus to have a go at something new like one of SuperCasino’s fun themed arcade games or a classic card game.

Now that Halloween is over and done with, forget the tricks and concentrate on the treats with SuperCasino – a fair, honest casino game network that is far from scary.

If You Like To Keep Things Simple

Simple souls who like low-effort games that are high on excitement will love classic roulette. SuperCasino.com specialises in this easy to play casino game and offers many variations on the game for players to choose from.

As well as live express and double up games, SuperCasino offers live presented games which are broadcast every night on Channel 5. This interactive roulette experience is an exciting way to play, and the friendly, fun presenters make playing along at home easy and enjoyable.

If You Like It Shaken, Not Stirred

Fans of the great 007 are sure to appreciate serious card games such as the poker games featured in Casino Royale. More likely to enjoy longer lasting games with higher stakes, James Bond-a-likes are also sure to appreciate sharp suits, fast cars and attractive women.

If You’re a Sports Fan

There’s no reason why sports fans can’t combine their love of sport with their online casino experience. SuperCasino has a wide range of sports themed online slots, which will suit a sports fan who likes instant, fast-paced action.

Tennis, horse racing, football and golf are just some of the sports themed games available. Football fans could even test their player knowledge with a fun game of World Football Stars Top Trumps.

Also available at SuperCasino are exciting sports themed arcade games, including Penalty Shoot Out, Bonus Bowling and Jackpot Darts. Whatever your sport of choice, you’ll find a fun game to suit you at SuperCasino.com.

If You’re a Movie Fan

Likewise, movie fans can enjoy mixing their leisure activities by choosing a game themed on one of their favourite films.

Supercasino has online slots based on recent box office hits like Iron Man 2 and X Men, as well as those themed on modern day classics such as Rocky, Gladiator and King Kong.

No matter what your favourite genre, there’s an online casino slot game to match.

If You’re An International Jetsetter

Those with a taste for all things foreign will love an overseas gaming experience with European or American Roulette. Perfect for when wanderlust means you fancy a change from your standard game, a slight twist on the roulette rules can refresh the game for those with itchy feet.

Like any leisure activity, some online games will appeal to certain people over others. Personality plays a big part in determining a gamer’s favourite online casino game, and what may be an unmissable game to one, may not interest another.

The best way to find your favourite online casino game is to simply relax and enjoy trying the variety of card, board, slot and arcade games at SuperCasino, and see which super online game best appeals to your personality type.

Have you ever wondered why dice have pips instead of numbers? It’s because the modern form of the die was fixed around 1300 BC. In other words, dice are older than numbers – by about 2000 years. The thrill of the bet has been, to put it mildly, something of a lifelong hobby for the Homo sapiens.

Gambling may be a one-way ticket to the hot coals if you happen to be a stockbroker, but for ancient religious types it was positively encouraged. In India, around 1500 BC, betting was a sacred pastime: anyone not having a flutter on Diwali, the festival of lights, was thought to be risking reincarnation as a donkey. Ritualised gambling was even used as the cure of possession by a dog demon, a complaint contemporary doctors would diagnose as epilepsy.

So, epileptic Hindus were fond of a wager, but what of us Brits?

Well our ingenuity knows no bounds when it comes to betting: In 1907, English rake and adventurer Harry Bensley accepted a most unusual wager. Harry, whilst wearing a two-kilogramme iron mask, was to circumnavigate the globe on foot without being recognised; push a perambulator across all 18 countries; begin his journey with just one pound and a change of underwear; and was to find a woman to marry him without ever seeing his face. He didn’t make it.

The fad for novelty bets enjoyed a resurgence in the 1960s, after a Mr David Threfall predicted at astronomical odds of 1000/1 that a man would walk on the moon by January 1, 1970. David was over the moon with his £10,000 pay out, until irony chucked a cruel spanner in the works: he was killed crashing the sports car he’d bought with the winnings. Bookies now take a bet a month that David shouldn’t have been paid at all, giving odds at 500/1 that the moon landings were a cold war hoax.

Where are we placing our bets these days? You’d be forgiven for thinking that Las Vegas spots are the most lucrative gambling destinations in the world, but that award goes to the Japanese game Pachinko, a cross between slot machines and pinball. Whilst American casinos take around $50 billion per year, Pachinko parlours rake in $300 billion from an estimated 20 million regular players.

You’ve missed the boat on the moon landings, a good cricket-tickling circle is hard to find these days, and the nearest Pachinko parlour’s a fifteen hour flight away, so where’s the best place to find the thrill of live gaming right now?

Our hot tip is SuperCasino.com, where professionally trained croupiers use casino-certified equipment live on television, taking bets on the phone and online. It’s as close as you can get to a real casino experience at home, and a foolproof recipe for dry-mouthed, heart-thumping excitement.

If your eye’s in on the roulette table or you make the right call at blackjack, you’ll become not only instantly richer, but instantly more famous – the croupiers congratulate winners by name, live on television. Quite a buzz, especially if you’ve got a few friends round to gloat at, and infinitely better than the tedious computer-generated games of other, lesser online casinos.

Journeys to work can be a terrible a pain in the cheeks, but fear not: help is at hand. SuperCasino.com are launching their mobile phone app this summer, which means all the world really will be a casino: winning a bundle on the roulette wheel certainly livens up the daily commute. Just bear in mind that loud whooping is frowned upon in the ‘quiet zone’.

Being far from financially inept, you are no doubt wondering what you stand to win. SuperCasino.com pays out over £50 million per month, and on particularly bad days for the house, players have been known to collectively win over £1 million in a single day. That’s £40,000 per hour, or about 7,000 times the minimum wage for the shelf-stacking masses.

We’re all genetically programmed to love a flutter, but now’s not exactly the best time to take giant risks at work, so it’s probably best to make your big calls with SuperCasino.com’s feverishly exciting live games. The value of your investment may go down as well as up – and that’s the thrill of it.