Games

Generations of visitors have found health and prosperity in the French Lick–West Baden region of Indiana. The history of these communities is filled with tales of exploration, ambition, philanthropy, and promised miracles from a foul-smelling water that magically seeped from the ground. The French Lick Hotel, founded by William Bowles in 1845, and the West Baden Hotel, founded by John Lane in 1855, both grew to set the standards for elegance and luxury across the country. Tycoons and gangsters found comfortable refuge here in this secluded corner of Indiana, but the challenges of the Great Depression and the war years set the community back on its heels. The once posh hotels fell into a period of decline and disrepair, only to come bounding back again in the 1990s. Today, the resort is filled with visitors who come seeking the perfect round of golf, a day at the spa, or a winning hand at the poker table, in two lavishly restored hotels that are reminiscent of another era.

Born of one man's dream and built on 1,001 acres northwest of metropolitan Chicago, Arlington Park had its inaugural run in 1927 and celebrated its 90th season in 2017. Innovative and forward-thinking, Arlington set the standard of excellence during the glory days of racing. The famed racetrack survived a devastating fire in 1985, reopening four years later to worldwide acclaim. Over the decades, Arlington has played host to some of the most famous horses, jockeys, trainers, and owners in the sport of kings. Arlington is also home to the world's first million-dollar race—the renowned Arlington Million—and is the only Windy City racetrack to have hosted the Breeders' Cup Championships.

From the time San Jose was founded by the Spanish in 1777 as California's first civilian settlement, the city has had its share of risk-taking in one way or another. San Jose began as a small settlement of farmers who produced food for the presidios in San Francisco and Monterey. In their free time, the farmers enjoyed a few games of cards despite the strict rules of the Spanish military. Present-day San Jose has become filled with high-tech engineers risking everything to develop the next successful start-up company. San Jose had a lot of gambling between these times-from the illegal speakeasy-type clubs that featured games such as dice, fan-tan, roulette, Chinese lotteries, and, of course, slot machines to the small legal card clubs consisting of one to ten tables filled with people playing games such as pan, lowball, and poker, that would eventually become two of Northern California's largest cardrooms, which generate millions of dollars every year.