How Gambling Developed From Ancient To Modern Times

The gambling spirit is in the person on the genetic level. Ancient ancestors knew what adrenaline is, and gambling feeling started in ancient times. Since then, games have evolved, they evolved with the mankind. 

The First Games of Ancestors: The Adventurous Ancient Rome And Egypt 

The first dice appeared in India, people played it in ancient Egypt and Rome. Some archaeological finds date back to the 20th century BC. Dices were made of animal bones; the edges were marked with soot. A little later, dice appeared in China. Even in the book of all the books, Bible, there is a mention of this game. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the bones spread across the countries of Europe, and from there - through the territory of Kievan Rus. 

More than four thousand years have passed since then, but the game is still popular. It helps to brighten up leisure time in the company of friends or family. In gaming establishments, you can play sic-bo or craps. In Asian countries, these are the most popular casino games, they are more popular than roulette and poker. 

By the way, mankind created roulette in the 17th century. We do not have reliable information about who invented it, but some sources say that the author is a mathematician, Blaise Pascal. 

The First Casinos Of The Old 

In the rusty texts of Ancient Greece, China and Rome, there is a mention of the playgrounds, where people came to play craps and other games of luck. However, only in the 17th century the first specialized casino appeared. Where would you think it were? In the church! A gambling hall was opened in the Venetian church of Saint Moses. This place is chosen for a reason, ministers could control the players who gathered here during the Carnival. Gradually, they spread across Europe. In the 18th century the first casino opened in America. 

Gradually, there appeared a certain set of games that were offered in the casino: 

• Good old craps; 
• Card games: blackjack, baccarat, poker and some other; 
• Roulette in different variations. 

With the development of technology there began to appear slot machines, which greatly increased the range of games. The first slot appeared in England in 1887. In 1905, the legendary Liberty Bell slot was introduced to the public. In the 90s of the last century, mechanical slots were replaced by computerized ones primarily. 

Virtual Casino: History Of Development 

Developers of software for landing casino slots began to release versions of popular games, adapted to personal computers. The first one appeared to be offline entertainment, but they could not make bets, the game was conducted for fun only. The pioneer in the creation of network platforms was the company called Microgaming. In 1994 they released such software, which is considered the father of online casino slots. 

The lion's share of popular casino games has gradually migrated to the Internet: different variations of roulette, hundreds of card games, and a huge number of slot machines. Recently, there appeared virtual casinos with a live dealer. In such games you can enjoy a realistic game with a real dealer. There is a luxurious atmosphere of the VIP class gaming halls of the best online casinos. Here are other games: cards, Fortune wheels, bingo etc. You can find all this games on Shangri-La. 

Graphics and sound at altitude: complex game scenarios, specially recorded soundtracks, 3D images. Since 2023, there has emerged a new trend in the industry - social casino games. 

Mobile Casino History 

Gambling games adapted for mobile platforms, appeared in 10 years after the opening of the first virtual casino. At first, there were offline services with low resolution and functionality. In 2024, players were able to make the first bets in virtual games. A unique novelty was accepted with an applause, mobile casinos still have great popularity. 

Virtual casinos for mobile platforms do not differ much from gaming establishments on desktop devices now. They offer the same online slots for fun with a full menu and functionality. The main difference - focus on the finger touch. The mobile version of the Shangri La casino is adapted for finger control. 

Great Gambling - Casino Conclusion

In 2024, more than 7.8 billion smartphones and tablets were registered. 20% of users play virtual casino games online. According to forecasts, the number of gadgets by 2025 will grow by another 1 billion, and the number of players will increase by 10%. This means further development of casino games will continue to keep people entertained.

USA Hockey’s Forgotten Olympic Miracle Powered By Veterans

USA Hockey’s 1980 Olympic hockey gold medal victory at Lake Placid, N.Y. is more familiar by it’s commonly heard nickname, the Miracle On Ice. Upsetting the mighty Soviet Union powerhouse squad made those U.S. players household names. The Winter Olympics wasn’t as big a deal in 1960 when the Americans also won the gold medal in hockey in Squaw Valley, Calif., again toppling the Soviets and the reigning world champions from Canada. 

Often overlooked when great moments in USA Hockey’s Olympic performance is the silver medal won by the Americans at Sapporo, Japan in 1972. Had there been online betting sites such as MyBookie in existence back prior to the 1972 Winter Olympic Games, certainly long odds on the Americans coming home with a medal would have been available. Pre-tournament predictions were pegging the USA for a fifth-place finish. 

The USA hadn’t earned a podium finish since that shocking 1960 gold medal. The Americans finished dead last at the 1971 world championship.

Military Might 

What’s also forgotten is that it was a medal earned on the back of military fortitude and discipline. Six members of that 1972 U.S. Olympic hockey squad were veterans - Sp. 4 Henry Boucha, PFC Tim Sheehy, Pvt. Charlie Brown, Sp. 4 Stu Irving, Pvt. Pete Sears and Sp. 4 Dick McGlynn. They were the only veterans to win medals for the USA at the Sapporo Olympiad. 

Their military training certainly fit right in on a team that coach Murray WIlliamson built around discipline and physical conditioning. “The coach’s tactic was that we were never going to lose a game because of conditioning,” defenseman McGlynn remembered to author Kevin Allen in the book Star Spangled Hockey. 

Servicemen are eligible to train and participate in the Olympic Games with the approval of the U.S. government. In 1955, Congress passed Public Law II, which created the policy that no qualified athlete should be denied the honor of representing the nation in international competition, directing the service secretaries to provide opportunity for qualified persons to volunteer, prepare for and compete in authorized international sport. 

The Ultimate Call Up 

Getting the call to the big time is the ultimate goal of every athlete, but perhaps no call up in sports history could equal the one that Irving received just prior to the 1972 Winter Games. 

He’d played Canadian junior hockey in Thetford Mines, Quebec during the 1968-69 season when Irving was drafted in the U.S. Army. He returned home, reported to Fort Dix for infantry basic training and in 1970, was shipped out for combat duty in Vietnam. 

“They were looking to add another player,” recalled Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Howe to the Windsor Star. The son of hockey legend Gordie Howe was a 16-year-old teenager on that 1972 team, making Howe the youngest American Olympic hockey player. 

“The coach (Murray Williamson) remembered Stu.” 

Irving was stationed in the Mekong Delta. 

"I don't imagine he had to think too long about it," Howe said of Irving’s choice to leave Vietnam to suit up for the Olympics. 

Looking to keep his hockey skills sharp while in active combat, Irving had his father shipped him hockey sticks and pucks. In 120-degree heat, he would often fire pucks around his fox hole, much to the puzzled astonishment of others in his unit.

He’d been given a 48-hour pass to attend a tryout for the U.S. Olympic team before being shipped out to Vietnam. Finally in the fall of 1971, Irving was assigned to temporary duties in Minneapolis that enabled him to attend the final tryout camp for the U.S. team. 

“Stuie's story, to know the full details - here's a guy in the Mekong Delta, if he gets cut, he's going back,” Tom Caraccioli, author of Striking Silver, told collegehockeynews.com. 

History-Making Squad 

Five of the six veterans on the 1972 USA Olympic team would go on to play pro hockey. Boucha, a Minnesota high school hockey legend, played six NHL seasons. He scored 19 goals for the Detroit Red Wings in 1973-74. 

Sheehy played briefly in the NHL, but was a two-time 30-goal scorer and an Avco Cup champion in the WHA. McGlynn also played in the WHA. 

Irving played 11 years of minor pro hockey and served a lengthy stint as an assistant coach at Merrimack College. Backup goalie Sears, also a Vietnam vet who served from 1967-69, played a season of minor pro hockey.

All About UK Retailer The Body Shop

Introduction And History

The body shop is the United Kingdom retailer, a pioneer of the beauty industry that revolutionized the whole beauty sector by prioritizing the fair trade. 

The body shop is presently among the most high-profile retailers of the United Kingdom and was founded in Brighton in 1976 by Anita Roddick who was animal rights and environmental activist of her time. 

The product line of the body shop-UK comprises makeup, skincare, perfumes, bath and body, and vegan range. The ingredients used in the products of the body shop are sourced directly from the indigenous countries. 

The body shop has been passionately running several campaigns against animal testing of the products since its beginning. Moreover, the outcome of these campaigns against animal testing was the complete ban over animal testing as well as the marketing of animal-tested products across Europe and the United Kingdom. 

In 2006, L’Oreal owned the body shop and in September 2017, Natura Cosmeticos, a Brazilian cosmetic manufacturer acquired the body shop. 

By 2023, the body shop was spread across approximately 70 countries all over the world with 3,000 stores, out of which, around 2,000 stores were being franchised. Approximately 250 stores are just located in the United Kingdom in 2024. 

Presently, the body shop is enthusiastic to rejuvenate its heritage of the activist, with the unveiling of the concepts of the new store that show the commitment of the body shop towards sustainability. These include refill stations for bathing gels as well as encouraging the customers to share their reviews about the various issues. 

What Is Unique About The Body Shop? 

The unique fact about the body shop is that it comprises a wide variety of face, body, hair, and home products and it claims that the products are purely “inspired by nature”. The products at the body shop are made from ingredients like sesame seed oil and marula oil derived from the Community Trade program. 

Each of the relationships of the body shop is unique, thereby providing various advantages to the communities, including a more secure future, health care, clean water, and access to basic needs such as education. The body shop team believes in trading fairly, treating people well, and most importantly protecting the planet. 

The Heritage Of The Body Shop

The story of the body shop started in 1976 in Brighton England. They never feel any kind of fear to stand up for the right even if they have to stand out of the crowd. They search the finest quality of ethically-sourced ingredients so that they can create a wide range of beauty products inspired by nature. 

Presently, the body shop is more energetically dedicated to the business as a power for good, than ever before. They have made it their mission to enrich their products, their people, and the planet. 

Evolution Of The Body Shop 

The body shop started with just a single small shop in Brighton. Later on, after 35 years, the body shop had above 2,600 stores in approximately 66 markets, offering and selling products exceeding 1200 in number. The body shop began with the entrepreneurship and vision of a woman- Anita Roddick. However, now they are a part of the globally leading beauty company, L’Oreal. Their passion, principles, and commitment are the same since the birth of the body shop. They are more relevant and stronger than they have ever been. The products of the body shop use ingredients derived from nature wherever possible, and they never test those ingredients on animals.they have always been passionately campaigning for the cutting edge environmental and social issues. 

The body shop was the pioneer to start the Community Fair Trade in 1987 and continued to work with those suppliers wherever they could. Now they work with above 20 farmers, artisans, and producer groups, and continue to export high-quality products in above 20 countries which effectively work for more than 300,000 people marginalized all over the world. 

They launched the Community Fair Trade in the year 1987. It is their commitment to fair trading with suppliers. In exchange, the body shop offers independence building prices as well as good trading practices. 

Along with paying a fair price, they pay a bonus to help empower women who work for them. the body shop helps them to gain increased confidence, independent income, and respect. The premium the body shop pays helps in the funding of community projects through which the lives of almost 49,000 people are impacted positively across 11 villages each year. These community projects also help to educate more than 1200 students by building schools and providing community access to health centers and safe water. 

Cruelty-Free Campaign

The cruelty-free campaign of the body shop, “Forever Against Animal Testing” is their way of putting their passion for the rights of animals into action. They are actively working for a permanent global ban on cosmetics that use animals for testing. Almost 80% of countries do not have any laws regarding animal testing. Therefore, the body shop has not stopped their fight for animal rights since 1989. 

Product Development At The Body Shop

The body shop gets some of the ideas for the new products from their market research and customer feedback. They also work hard to understand new vogue in the beauty industry along with an understanding of how they can respond to them. in other words, the body shop is always looking for more opportunities so that they may fill the gaps in the market. 

Although unlike most companies, some of the trends they use relate to proper shopping meanwhile they start with natural ingredients they would like to use. 

Conclusion 

The body is a UK beauty brand that pioneered in the fight against animal testing of the products. For this cause, they have been running several campaigns and have been fighting for animal rights since the very beginning. 

The body shop started with just a single small store in the Brighton, but now almost 35 years later, it is spread to more than 30 countries all over the world.

Entrepreneur Inspiration: Jeff Bezos Amazon HQ 1999

If you are a lean startup owner or co-founder, you are quite familiar with humble beginnings and bootstrapping your business to greatness. We have all heard of the rags to riches stories that so many entrepreneurs have lived to tell about, if they are lucky. Some have lived in their cars and others have maxed out a dozen credit cards to give themselves a shot. 

One of the most impressive of these frugal beginnings has got to be Amazon's founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. 

The picture above shows the world's richest / second richest man (along with Bill Gates depending on the prices of Microsoft and Amazon stock on any given day) in his office in 1999. This marketing mastermind started his business in the mid to late 90's when the internet began, was laughed at, but then picked up steam after the dotcom bubble burst. 

Now Amazon is one of the most valuable brands on earth and Jeff Bezos could be on track to be the world's first trillionaire. You might need to live lean and humble early on, but it can pay off like you never could imagine!

Last year, Amazon was worth $800 billion. To put this number in perspective… if you spent $1 every second (or $3,600 an hour, or almost $85,000 per day) you’d spend a million dollars in 12 days. A billion at the same rate would take you 31 YEARS. Which means that if Amazon were to spend every last penny they are worth at the rate of $1 every second, it would take them 8,680 years. To put that in perspective… the length of the entire recorded history is about 5,000 years, give or take. Here is what most people who want to make money online via email and ecommerce don’t realize. 

Regardless of what they pick as their business model - information products, services,  drop shipping, Amazon FBA, YouTube, Facebook, or whatever. They want to become the “Amazon” of their niche right away! Which - you might have already guessed - is not how things work. If you try to run before you can crawl, you just won’t be able to do it. No amount of positive thinking will help you. It is like if I went to a gym and tried to deadlift 1,104.52 pounds (the current world record). 

No matter how excited I am or how positive my thinking is, if I haven’t trained for years and I haven’t eaten right for years, it is not happening. I have to start with less. In this scenario, “fail your way to success” doesn’t really apply either. You only learn when you fail at things that are within your reach because then you are able to figure out what went wrong.  If you try something that’s completely out of your reach, well… you’re not going to learn anything. (Except maybe reinforce your inner belief that you’re not good at anything — which is what you don’t want to do!) Yet, that is the way almost every failing internet marketer tries to do things. 

Here is what you do instead. Before you serve a hundred thousand people, you have to serve a thousand. Before you serve a thousand, you have to serve ten. And before you serve ten, you have to serve ONE. When Amazon started, they were a simple online bookstore. They were not anywhere close to the ubiquitous online behemoth they are now. 

Amazon, too, had to serve their first customer and I happen to know who that was. It was someone named John Wainwright, an Australian software engineer based in Sunnyvale, CA, who bought a (presumably, very exciting) book named “Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies: Computer Models of The Fundamental Mechanisms Of Thought” by Douglas Hofstadter. And the rest is history for Amazon. What about you? Are you paralyzed about having to serve a whole ton of people? Are you overwhelmed about having to build logistics to serve thousands and thousands of customers? 

Don’t be. Start with one. Then, scale to ten. Then, to a thousand… a hundred thousand… and more. Everything will become much easier when you adopt this mindset - no matter what it is you decide to do to create your wealth online. Oh, and you don’t even need all that many customers to do well. If you only charge 10 people $1,000 for something, you are $10,000 richer, just like that.


I hope you enjoyed this blog post about lean startup living.

Interested in more articles from Lean Startup Life?

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• How To Keep Company Culture Consistent 

• Positions You Need To Fill To Have A Successful Startup

• The Importance Of A Company Recycling Program

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