Gambling, in one form or the other, is allowed in many parts and states in the United States and Canada. If you are a citizen of the US or Canada, you can come across many land-based gambling houses spread across the country. If you are an avid gambler and want to try out the new slot machines in Canada, then you need to be over 19 years of age. The legal age to gamble in the United States is 21. So, Canadian citizens can start at a very young age to place bets on their favourite slots, or table games. There are over 450 brick and mortar casinos spread across the United States and over 100 to 125 physical gambling centres in Canada.    

Best Gambling Places in the US

The United States government is making over 1,000 billion dollars a year through the betting business. This is a lot of money coming in for the country as big as America. If you are looking to make the most out of the casinos, then you need to plan your trip to the best places and gaming houses. There is no point in wandering around looking out for a physical gambling den. The main reason behind this is that America is a big country. Many places and states in the US have casinos, but some are better than the others. The following is a list of some of the top gaming cities in the United States.  

• Las Vegas, Nevada

It is considered the gambling capital of the world. This city opened its first licensed gambling den in 1931 and now Las Vegas Strip and Vegas are the most popular locations to try real money slots or other popular games.

• Atlantic City, New Jersey

This is another popular destination for casino fans along the East Coast. The most popular city to gamble is Monopoly City and there are many large casinos spread across Atlantic City. 

• Chicagoland, Illinois 

The city of Chicago and its surrounding areas are a popular location for all gaming enthusiasts in the USA and other countries. There are huge gaming houses in Chicago and it is the 3^rd largest betting city in the US.   

• Los Angeles, California 

The City of Angels is very close to Nevada and this could be one of the reasons why gambling is in huge demand in this city. Considering its size, LA has a decent gambling scene to offer for the betting fans. The city houses about 10 gaming centres and many look forward to try their luck and betting skills at these sites. 

• Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The Sunshine State of Florida is a coastal state and is an in-demand location for all the gaming fanatics. There are plenty of land-based gaming centres spread across this state and especially in Fort Lauderdale, but there are not huge ones. It is home to many cruise lines and the fans get to enjoy playing their favourite slots or other table titles at the open sea.  

Some of the other popular gambling destination cities and states in the US include: 

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• St. Louis, Missouri

• Detroit, Michigan

• New Orleans, Louisiana

• Foxwoods, Connecticut and many more

Popular Gaming Centres in Canada 

Gambling is legal all over Canada, but you will not find a number of casinos here as you come across in America. The legal age to gamble in Quebec City is just 18 years and it is 19 years for the rest of Canada. Betting was legalized in this country in 1969, and it is seen as one of the major revenue spinners to raise funds to support useful causes. 

Some of the popular states and cities that house the best casinos in Canada are discussed below. 

• Alberta

There are 35 sites here, which is the maximum number of casinos when compared to all other Canadian provinces. The popular ones in this province include The Apex, The Boomtown, The Eagle River, The Palace, and The Yellowhead casinos.

• British Columbia

This is another hot destination of gambling in Canada and the top sites here include the Great Canadian, the River Rock, View Royal, and Royal City Star casinos. 

• Quebec

Montreal is the most happening place in this province and gambling is one of the most thriving businesses here. Some of the popular places to visit to satisfy your gaming pleasures are Playground Poker Club, Gaming Salon of Quebec, and Charlevoix, Mont Tremblant, and Montreal casinos. 

The other popular betting provinces that draw the locals and the foreign gamblers are:

• Manitoba

• Ontario

• Calgary

• Nova Scotia

• Vancouver

• Victoria, etc.

Closing Thoughts 

As you can see, there are plenty of legal physical gaming houses spread across the length and breadth of Canada and the USA. All you have to do is to choose the best betting centre through proper planning and make the most out of it.

Who amongst us is averse to having the occasional flutter? Not I. And with the Aintree Grand National just around the corner, I can’t be the only one wondering which horse is going to win 2020 Grand National. There are serious contenders such as short priced (5-1) favourite Tiger Roll (going for his third consecutive win), as well as Burrows Saint at 12-1 and Any Second Now at 16-1. The factors involved in making a selection can be numerous. Trainer, Owner, form, what the going is, handicap weights, it’s all relevant. And certainly one key factor that cannot be understated in that of the jockey on board. If I was to give an example of one who had the determination to get the job done, I think I’d have to go with none other than Richard Dunwoody.

Dunwoody requires little introduction. Before being forced to retire by a neck injury in 1999, at the age of 35, he rode an incredible 1,699 winners in Britain and became National Hunt Champion Jockey in three consecutive seasons between 1992/93 and 1994/95. He was also inducted into the Grand National Hall of Fame in 2011 by virtue of having ridden in the race 14 years running and been placed eight times. This isn’t a man who would ever need to pad out his racing CV.

Dunwoody rode 24 winners as an amateur before making the decision to turn professional in 1984 and he rode his first Grand National winner, West Tip, two years later at the tender age of 22. West Tip, ridden by Dunwoody, had started favourite for the National the previous year, but fell, when in the lead, at Becher’s Brook on the second circuit. However, on their return to Aintree in 1986, Dunwoody and West Tip led approaching the Elbow and the nine-year-old stayed on well to beat Young Driver by 2 lengths.

Years later, Dunwoody admitted, “I was very young when West Tip won at Aintree and didn’t fully realise the enormity of it.” Nevertheless, the partnership returned to Aintree three more times, finishing fourth in 1987 and 1988, behind Maori Venture and Rhyme ‘N’ Reason, respectively, and second in 1989, behind Little Polveir.

In 1993, on the retirement of Peter Scudamore, Richard Dunwoody moved to Martin Pipe and rode his second Grand National winner, Miinnehoma, for the Wellington trainer the following April. Owned by none other than comedian Freddie Starr, Miinnehoma had previously finished a respectable seventh of 15, beaten 19 lengths, behind The Fellow in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Dunwoody later commented, “Miinnehoma provided me with one of my greatest highlights, because his success was so unexpected. It came at a stage in my career when I was better able to appreciate it.” On heavy going, Miinnehoma ran on well under pressure in the closing stages to beat confirmed mudlark Just So by 1¼ lengths. I expect this uplifting story will have kept the usual ‘Freddie Starr ate my hamster’ headlines at bay for a week or two.

If you’re looking to boost your betting bank, it pays to have an approach that both pays off and pays out! Horses can of course have many strengths, and indeed weaknesses. Some tend to hang back and then push in the finishing straight, others have an endurance and will that far exceeds their rivals. I find that the most re-assuring horses to put your betting faith in though, are those that show serious pace. This pace can be displayed in anything from short five furlong affairs, right through to the big races like The Grand National.

We saw this in last years race when punters witnessed speedy 7-2 favourite Tiger Roll breeze to victory in impressive style, rewarding those that put their faith in him. There are numerous betting offers for the grand national right now, as the race nears. Maybe taking advantage of one, while relying on Tiger Rolls pace to win for a third year in a row, wouldn’t be the worst option for those considering placing a bet. Or perhaps keep your powder dry under the markets settle? Decisions, decisions!

According to Guinness World Records, the fastest horse ever, over two furlongs, was the two-year-old filly, Winning Brew, trained by Francis Vitale. In May, 2008, the daughter of Milwaukee Brew covered a quarter of a mile at Penn National in 20.57 seconds, achieving a speed of 43.97 miles per hour. Interestingly, Winning Brew raced three times, over 5½ furlongs, 7 furlongs and a mile, during her juvenile season, but failed to trouble the judge. Indeed, her best performance came when fifth of six, beaten 7¾ lengths, in the Grade One Spinaway Stakes, over 7 furlongs, at Saratoga in August, 2008.

Of course, no official horse races are run over two furlongs. In Britain, the minimum advertised distance for a horse race is five furlongs; the fastest time over that distance, according to Guinness World Records, was recorded by Stone Of Folca, trained by John Best, at Epsom Downs in June, 2012. Providing food for thought by belying odds of 50/1, and aided by the fact that the five-furlong course at Epsom is reputedly the fastest in the world, the four-year-old Kodiac gelding won the aptly-titled ‘Dash’ Handicap by half a length in a time of 53.69 seconds. In so doing, Stone Of Folca shaved just one hundredth of a second off the previous record set by Spark Chief 29 years earlier. Remarkably, in eighteen subsequent outings between his world-record breaking effort and the end of his racing career, in July, 2017, Stone Of Folca failed to win again and was placed just twice.

Horse racing is awash with language and slang that can be disconcertingly unfamiliar to the uninitiated. Some terms are intended, quite deliberately, to bamboozle the novice racegoer, while some are just, well, obscure. Here are a few that you may come across, in the racing press, on the racecourse or even in your local betting shop

Bag – Short for ‘bag of sand’ which, in turn, is rhyming slang for ‘grand’, meaning £1,000; the latter comes from ‘grand’ in its adjectival sense and apparently dates from the early twentieth century

Bits – Usually followed by ‘on’ or ‘against’, meaning odds of 10/11 or 11/10.

Blow up – Nothing to do with a horse losing its temper, but rather weakening in the closing stages of race, due to lack of fitness.

Burlington Bertie – The protagonist of a music hall song from the turn of the century but, in horse racing parlance, rhyming slang for fractional odds of 100/30 or ‘a hundred to thirty’

Carpet – Odds of 3/1; hence ‘double carpet’, meaning odds of 33/1

Cockle – £10; from the rhyming slang ‘cock and hen’, meaning ‘ten’.

Duck egg – From the same derivation as ‘duck’, originally ‘duck’s egg’, in cricket; a ‘0’ in the form figures of a horse, indicating an unplaced run.

Dwelt – A past tense of ‘dwell’, but in the sense of ‘to pause’, rather than ‘to live’; used to describe a horse that is slow to leave the starting stalls.

Handy – A racing position on, or just off, the pace during a race.

Hanging – Deviating from a straight line, one way or the other, usually because of fatigue, but also because of adverse camber.

Keen – Over-racing, to a greater or lesser degree, but inevitably wanting to go faster than a jockey wants and expending vital energy in the process.

Jolly – The favourite in any given race; derived from the phrase ‘jolly old favourite’.

Lady – £5; short for ‘Lady Godiva’, an 11^th century noblewoman who, according to legend, once rode naked through the streets of Coventry, but also rhyming slang for ‘fiver’.

Monkey – £500; apparently derived for a Rs. 500/- banknote in circulation in India during the British Raj, which featured a monkey

Plate – An aluminium racing horseshoe; hence ‘spread a plate’, meaning to lose such a horseshoe.

Pony – £25; similar derivation to ‘Monkey’, except the Rs. 25/- banknote featured a pony.

Skinner – Also known as a ‘Result’; a race in which a bookmaker faces little or no payout.

Steamer – Also known as a ‘Springer’; a horse that unexpectedly contracts in price, usually from long odds, in the face of market support.

Tongue tie – Denoted by a ‘t’ on a racecard; a strip of material tied around the tongue and lower jaw of a horse, to prevent the horse swallowing its tongue or slipping it over the bit.

Under pressure – Used to describe a horse being encouraged by its jockey to run faster; a horse may, or may not, respond to such encouragement, hence phrases such as ‘headway under pressure’, ‘weakened under pressure’ and so on.

Village – The main betting ring on a racecourse, usually located in the Tattersalls enclosure.