Cassino, sometimes spelt Casino, is a fishing card game for two to four players (best for two) using a standard, 52-card, French-suited pack. It is the only fishing game to have penetrated the English-speaking world. It is very similar to the later Italian game of Scopa and is often said, without substantiation, to be of Italian origin. History Although 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. The spelling "Cassino" is used in the earliest rules of 1790 and is the most persistent spelling since, although German sources invariably use the spelling "Casino" along with some later English sources. 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. In fact, as "Cassino", the game is first recorded in 1790 in England where it appears to have become something of a fashionable craze, and certainly well known enough for Mrs. Scatter to declare "I do long for a game of Cassino" in Frederic Reynolds' 1797 comedy, Cheap Living. 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. The counting cards were the Aces and two special cards known as the 'Great Cassino' (10) and 'Little Cassino' (2). As the game developed, further counters were added. One country to follow hard on English heels was Austria-Hungary where, as early as 1795 in Vienna and Prague, rules were published that incorporated English terminology such as "sweep" and "lurch." Initially the rules followed those in English sources, but as early as 1810, a markedly different variant appeared in which the court cards, Aces and Cassinos became far more potent. The courts were given values of 11, 12 and 13 respectively, the Aces could be valued at 14 as well as 1, the Great Cassino at 10 or 16 and the Little Cassino at 2 or 15. This elaboration of the Cassino went unnoticed in its country of origin and across the Atlantic, apart from a fleeting observation in 1846 by