As the game developed, further counters were added. The counting cards were the Aces and two special cards known as the 'Great Cassino' ( ♦10) and 'Little Cassino' ( ♠2). At that stage, the court cards had no numerical value and could only be paired, and there was no building that did not appear in English rules until the second half of the century. Scatter to declare 'I do long for a game of Cassino' in Frederic Reynolds' 1797 comedy, Cheap Living. In fact, as 'Cassino', the game is first recorded in 1792 in England where it appears to have become something of a fashionable craze, and certainly well known enough for Mrs. Likewise an origin in gambling dens appears unlikely since a casino in the late 18th century was a summer house or country villa the name was not transferred to gambling establishments until later. The spelling 'Cassino' is used in the earliest rules of 1792 and is the most persistent spelling since, although German sources invariably use the spelling 'Casino' along with some English sources. History Īlthough Cassino is often claimed to be of Italian origin, detailed research by Franco Pratesi has shown that there is no evidence of it ever being played in Italy and the earliest references to its Italian cousins, Scopa and Scopone, post-date those of Cassino. Cassino is still played today in Madeira, probably due to English influence. It is similar to the later Italian game of Scopa and is often said, without substantiation, to be of Italian origin. It is the only fishing game to have penetrated the English-speaking world. Cassino, sometimes spelt Casino, is an English card game for two to four players using a standard, 52-card, French-suited pack.

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