Every now and again we take a break from playing at the top USA online casinos you see on this site and sometimes we even like to read a good book… a book about casinos of course! And here are some of our favorites which we’d recommend for when you’re not quite in the mood – or don’t have the funds or bonus cash – to play at an online casino.

Beat The Dealer by Edward O. Thorp

Beat The Dealer is the seminal book on card counting in blackjack and whilst you won’t learn anything new – the book was, after all, first published in the 1960s – its place in the history of blackjack means this is a must read for any casino fan, especially those who like blackjack.

Bringing Down The House by Ben Mezrich

This book is classed as non-fiction and tells the tale of the infamous MIT blackjack team who took casinos all over the world for tens of millions of dollars over a period of around 20 years. Whilst there is much in the book that is, shall we say, embellished, it remains both hugely entertaining and also very informative.

American Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling by Andrew Brisman

This book covers a wide range of information that is highly useful for both online casino gambling and traditional bricks and mortar casinos. The writing is wittier than you might expect from a Mensa man and the advice and tips are very thoughtful and based on sound logic.

Amarillo Slim In A World Full Of Fat People by Amarillo Slim

This book is a real easy read and great fun and whilst not strictly speaking a casino book – Slim was most famously a prop bettor, poker player and pool man – there are some great casino and gambling tales in the tome to make it a very worthy inclusion on our list. Anyone for riding a camel through a casino?

How to Win at Gambling by Avery Cardoza

If you’d rather have a great game and strategy guide than great stories, this is the one single book that covers just about everything you’ll need to play almost every major casino game with the lowest house edge that particular game allows.

Almost all USA online casinos offer online blackjack and whether you play for a bit of fun or take your blackjack more seriously, the Blackjack Hall of Fame is sure to inspire you. Whether you need a little motivation to play after a bad run at the online tables or are just interested in blackjack history, read on for the lowdown on the Blackjack Hall of Fame.

The Blackjack Hall of Fame, which is located at the Barona Casino in San Diego, California, was created in 2002 when the seven inaugural inductees were given the incredible honor of being the first names to be recognized for their contribution to the great game of blackjack.

Those seven players were Tommy Hyland, Stanford Wong, Ken Uston, Al Francesco, Arnold Snyder, Edward O. Thorp and Peter Griffin. Perhaps the most famous name on that list is Thorp, who wrote the seminal card counting book Beat The Dealer, first published in 1962. Whilst Thorp’s contribution to the game cannot be mistaken, names such as Wong, Hyland and Griffin will also be familiar to many and the original inductees are very much a who’s who of blackjack theory, math, team play, card counting and strategy.

The initial seven were chosen from a group of 21 possible contenders and since then a number of players, experts and theorists have been added. In 2008 four names that may not be well known outside true blackjack aficionado circles were added as a collective, with Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott being inducted.

This foursome, known as the The Four Horsemen of Aberdeen, are said to have perfected the rules of basic strategy and so, in many ways, they are ultimately responsible for just about every variation on blackjack advantage play.

Since then one new name has been added to the Blackjack Hall of Fame each year, with author Don Schlesinger (2014) the most recent addition. Who knows though, with a little dedication, maybe you could one day make the Hall of Fame and whilst that’s unlikely you could certainly have a whole heap of fun perfecting your blackjack game online and hopefully make a few dollars in the process too! See the online blackjack casinos we recommend which all accept USA players and also check out live dealer blackjack. Live dealer online blackjack gives you the closest experience possible to playing at a land based casino bit still online. Check out all there is to know about live dealer casinos and specifically USA live dealer casinos.

Whilst we largely focus on the best casino bonuses, games and promotions, sometimes we like to have a look away from casino action and, for soccer fans, the upcoming Copa America is one of the most exciting events around. With many of the best USA online casinos also offering sports betting you won’t need a new account to have a bet on the soccer, although with various welcome bonuses and free bets on offer to new customers, joining a new casino/sports site could be a lucrative move.

Who will win the Copa America?

Well, the US may not be taking part in this year’s event but even so, the 2015 Copa America in Chile is still well worth watching, and certainly worth betting on. If you fancy a break from playing slots, blackjack or whatever your favorite casino game is, then we really recommend you check out the soccer. It’s more exciting than you might think and the Copa America features loads of the world’s best players, including Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Brazil’s Neymar, Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, Colombia’s James Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez, from host nation Chile.

Messi is the best player in the world and quite probably of all time and it is his Argentina side who are the favorites to win the Copa America, with +250 about the best price going. Next up are Brazil at +333, with the hosts Chile also in with a real shot at odds of +500 and Colombia making up the top four in the betting at +600.

South American sides, did really well at the last World Cup in Brazil and any of those four could certainly go all the way at the Copa America. With so many of the best players starring for top European sides such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal, there is always a concern they may be somewhat tired by the time of the major tournaments.

The Copa America gets underway on 12th June, with Chile playing Ecuador (we recommend a bet on Chile at -175) and many of the game’s best players will have played in the Champions League final just a few days prior to that.

Even so, we think magical Messi will have enough in his little legs to guide Argentina to glory so lay down your casino stack and set aside a few chips for a bet on Argentina, our prediction for glory in this year’s Copa America.

Playing online casinos is great fun but we don’t just bring you details for the best USA online casinos and casino bonuses, we also like to give you a little news too, albeit casino-related! Here we take a look at some of the big casino news from the last week or so from across the world…

Department of Defense Blows $1m in Casinos!

Oh how we all might dream of having a $1m bankroll to play our favorite online slots and casino games. Well, it may come as a shock to many that a recent report by the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense showed that in a one-year period the department spent a cool $952,258 on government credit cards in casinos. Of course, after a little bit of gambling some folks like a little “adult” entertainment and the same report shows that a further $96,576 was spent in “adult entertainment establishments”.

The spending, more than 5,000 transactions in total, came between July 2013 and June 2014, with one individual said to have spent more than $16,000 in casinos on his government issued card.

Two Ohio Casinos Fined

Two Horseshoe casinos have been fined $175,000 in total for surveillance coverage at tables that was deemed unsatisfactory. Cincinnati was hit with a charge of $125,000, with Cleveland fined $50,000 following a settlement. Proper credit controls were also not implemented, with customers at the Cincinnati casino having extensions authorized without the correct procedures.

Baton Rouge Continues to Profit

It’s not all bad news though, at least not unless you’re a customer at one of BR’s three riverboat casinos. Combined winnings for April this year were up 6.2% on last year – a healthy $24.1m. I wonder how much of that was from the Army, Air Force or Navy?!

Boost for UK Casinos

On the other side of the Atlantic a number of casinos and online gambling firms received a boost when the Conservative Party won the recent General Election. The opposition Labour Party had been expected to introduce tougher gambling legislation that would have hit online casinos and sportsbooks but now share prices are up and the mood is positive.

Moreover, the idea of “super-casinos”, which never really got going in the UK, could be revived, after some industry chiefs said that new mega casinos would boost the economy and help encourage responsible gambling.

There are now a growing number of USA legal online casinos where you can play a good range of slots and table games online but if you just want to sit back and relax with a good movie, we’ve got details of some of the best casino movies around. If you didn’t feel like playing a few casino games before, watch any of these great pictures and you’re sure to be in the mood for a few games of blackjack or roulette or a few spins of the slots.

Casino

We have to start with Casino, a Martin Scorsese classic featuring some serious violence, some serious gambling and starring mobster heavyweights Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, as well as a ravishing and Oscar-nominated Sharon Stone. Set in the Vegas underworld of the 1970s and 1980s, this brilliant movie is a must-see for anyone who loves casinos, gangsters, Vegas… actually, just anyone!

The Hangover

Okay, this isn’t strictly a movie ABOUT casinos, but it is set in Vegas and features some brilliant casino scenes, including an excellent card counting take on the great MIT team. After watching some of the more harrowing scenes in Casino you may well need a laugh and The Hangover will provide you with plenty of them, that’s for sure.

Ocean’s 11

Ocean’s 11 provides a little of everything, giving you laughs, some low-key violence, plenty of action and more than enough gambling. You also get an (albeit dramatized) insight into behind the scenes Vegas and casino life and this stylish, all-star movie is seriously easy to watch. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon and sure to get you in the mood for some online casino fun!

21

21 is the film adaptation of the quite brilliant book, Bringing Down the House. Both tell the story of the infamous MIT blackjack team that took casinos worldwide for hundreds of millions of dollars over an extended period and revolutionized team play and card counting itself.

Rounders

Whilst 21 focuses on blackjack, Rounders is all about poker and whilst most of the casino action is more of the underground-gambling-den variety, the brilliance of Matt Damon and Edward Norton are sure to have you itching to play poker, blackjack or any other gambling card game.

If that’s whetted your appetite then why not join one of the great USA online casinos listed here, claim one of the generous online casino bonuses and see if your luck’s with you today?