A history of pai gow poker

Pai Gow is Chinese for "Make-Nine." The original game, of ancient origin, was played with dominos. The ranking of the domino combinations is complicated but the fundamental goal of any player is to have more combinations closer to nine than has the dealer.

By the middle of the 1800's, Chinese immigrants had brought Pai Gow to North America. The domino game gradually merged with card games, finally evolving into Pai Gow Poker.

In 1986, Pai Gow Poker came into vogue in California. 1987 saw the admittance of Pai Gow Poker into Las Vegas casinos and in 1988 the game debuted in Atlantic City.