The History of Pai Gow Poker is certainly an interesting one. Pai Gow originates from China, traditionally Pai Gow was played with tiles similar to that of domino tiles. Using these tiles, the dealer would split them into four groups and then a dice would be rolled. The outcome of the dice would determine which group of tiles was allocated to which player.
This version of the game was nothing like we know it to be today with the tiles being split into two groups- army and civilians which were represented by pictures. The game evolved into what we recognise today thanks to the influx of asian immigrants to America, specifically to California.
It was thanks to a character called Frank Wolf that the Pai Gow Poker we know and love today came into existence. In the 1980's, Frank, (being the owner of Commerce Casino) decided that instead of playing the game with Dominoes you should play with Pai Gow cards.