Travel the World One Casino At A Time

Online casinos have become the number one way to enjoy epic games like blackjack, roulette, and slots. No matter if you’re using a computer, smartphone, or tablet, you have dozens of variants available at your fingertips.

Live dealer games have taken this a step further, bringing the experience of being in a physical casino to your home, the bus, or wherever else you’re playing from

Whilst online casinos continue to grow in popularity, land-based alternatives continue to thrive. These venues offer something different to players, often combining gaming with other forms of entertainment like live music and fine dining.

In some cities, like Las Vegas and Macau, this has led to the construction of the world’s largest casinos, creating a new category known as ‘integrated resorts’. But it’s not just in these two regions where you can find awesome spots to have a flutter, they’re scattered across the globe.

Las Vegas Casinos

No city is as synonymous with casinos as Las Vegas. What was once a dusty desert outpost has grown into a giant adult playground packed with almost every form of entertainment you can imagine.

Not only is it the casino capital of the world, it’s also the home of global boxing, a major convention host, the location of a unique Formula 1 Grand Prix, and the place where many A-list celebrities have taken up residence to perform night after night.

Vegas is also where you’ll find major NFL, MLB, WNBA, and NHL teams, several theme parks, and the unique Sphere.

All of this entertainment augments the city’s main attraction, casinos. Over the decades, casino owners have expanded their offerings to give you more reasons to visit and stay, leading to the creation of many of the world’s largest casinos.

The biggest in Las Vegas is the Wynn/Encore Resort and Casino, a record it’s held since it opened in 2008. The bronze-coloured building towers over the strip with its 50 stories, accommodating more than 2,000 rooms, and offering hundreds of tables and slots across its 72,000 square ft gaming floor.

Surprisingly, the biggest casino in America is not in Las Vegas. That title belongs to the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville Oklahoma. Located on the cleverly numbered 777 Casino Avenue, it opened in 2004 and has been expanded twice in the proceeding years to house a 370,000 square ft gaming floor and 1,495 hotel rooms.

Located on the site, you’ll also find dozens of dining options, including famous names like Panda Express and IHOP, as well as unique and up-market options. WinStar also boasts a huge 6,500-seat arena that has seen big names like KISS, Pitbull, and Bob Dylan perform.

London

Gambling has been a part of London’s history since at least the times of King Henry VIII and, as you’d expect in the British capital, you can find plenty of classy casinos that ooze opulence.

Until recently, one of these was Crockfords Club, which had been operating from its Mayfair location for almost 200 years. This is similar to several other gaming establishments that have closed their doors in the city in recent years.

However, London is still not short of casinos. Whilst it’s not the biggest casino in Europe, the largest in the UK is The Hippodrome. This iconic building, which is located in the heart of the West End entertainment district, has had a varied history having operated as a variety show theatre and a nightclub before closing down for a few years.

Today, The Hippodrome has 80,000 square feet of gaming and entertainment space, spread out over seven floors. This includes a dedicated poker floor, a baccarat lounge, nine different bars, as well as a renowned steakhouse and a range of table and slot games.

Monaco

Like Vegas, Monaco is another destination that is synonymous with casinos. The tiny European principality is located south of France on the Mediterranean coast and is so small you can walk from one side to the other in an hour.

The Casino de Monte-Carlo is a Monagasque institution and has played a major part in the history of the microstate. It was opened in 1865 and was created to generate revenue for the government and serve foreign travellers who came to Monaco to soak up some sun and have a flutter.

Emphasising this, locals are banned from the gaming floor, a rule that has stood for more than one and a half centuries.

The Casino de Monte-Carlo is a work of art, inside and out, with a luscious garden standing in its shadow and stretching several blocks. Once you’re in the casino, you will be enamoured by its grand architecture and beautiful decor.

Monaco’s casino stands prominently in the principality, right in the centre and at the top of a hill, giving gamers stunning views over the harbour and the sea.

If you’re a petrolhead, you’ll want to visit in May when Formula 1 comes to town as, all weekend, the cars come racing right past the entrance, with one of the racetrack’s most famous corners being ‘Casino Square’. Even if you can’t make it for the Grand Prix, you’ll still get to admire a parade of supercars driving past, no matter the time of year.

Singapore

Singapore is another city-state on the coast that has become a popular destination amongst casino players. Like Monaco, it has rules restricting when and how much locals can use the gaming floors, as the nation’s casinos are intended to be the domain of travellers.

However, Singapore’s casinos are much newer. The country allows large integrated resorts, similar to the giant casinos found in Las Vegas.

You can find two of these resorts in the country: Resorts World Sentosa Casino and Marina Bay Sands Casino. Both opened in 2010 with very different looks.

Resorts World, located on the southern island of Sentosa, has 160,000 square feet of gaming floor space and 1,800 rooms across the seven hotels situated on the site. Alongside this, it offers a range of attractions and amenities, including Universal Studios Singapore, a waterpark, an aquarium, a dolphin island, a luxury fashion gallery, and countless restaurants.

Marina Bay Sands, on the other hand, is located right in the heart of the city and is one of Singapore’s most famous landmarks. When it was completed, it was the most expensive standalone casino construction project in the world having cost the equivalent of £5.24 billion to build.

Across its three towers, Marina Bay Sands boasts 120,000 square feet of gaming and can accommodate more than 6,000 guests in its 2,975 hotel rooms. It also features a shopping mall, museum theatre, art exhibits, convention centre, and nightclub.

Atop these towers is the Sands Skypark, a boat-shaped structure that looks like it’s sailing in the air. The Skypark has room for more than 3,000 people and features an open-air swimming pool and stunning views over Singapore.

Macau

One of the biggest casinos in Europe is the Casino Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal, so it should be no surprise that the former Portuguese colony of Macau is home to many major casinos and integrated resorts.

Macau is like Vegas in that the city has fully embraced its casino industry. Before Singapore opened its resorts, the Special Administrative Region of China was the only destination for Asian casino-goers who didn’t want to travel to the US or Europe to gamble. As a result, Macau has become home to a long list of integrated resorts that rival cities like Vegas, Atlantic City, Monaco, and Singapore for the size and quality of their offering. It’s hard to underestimate the size and scale of these resorts as casinos employ around 24% of the entire Mecanese workforce.

Whilst competition from other Asian casinos has increased in recent years, you will struggle to find a comparable all-round offering than in Macau which is why gamblers from across the region and the world flock to the islands.

Auckland

Located on the North Island of New Zealand, Auckland is one of the most southerly major cities.

With its population of around 1.7 million, Auckland is, by far, the biggest city in the country. Towering over this area is the Sky Tower, a unique construction that can be found in the centre of the city.

Constructed in 1994, the Sky Tower was the tallest construction in the southern hemisphere until it was beaten in 2005 by Australia’s Q1 building. In addition to broadcasting radio signals, this tower is an entertainment centre, featuring a range of different attractions, including a sky bar, two observation decks, a revolving restaurant, and a cable-guided jump for guests to make a speedy trip back down to the ground.

Located at the tower’s base is another popular attraction, the SkyCity Auckland entertainment complex, which features a casino with 100 gaming tables, a dedicated VIP room, and around 1,600 slot machines.

Whilst smaller than many integrated resorts in Singapore, Macau, and Las Vegas, Auckland’s SkyCity offers many of the same amenities. This includes a calendar of live sports and entertainment, a luxury hotel, an e-sports centre, and a range of restaurants.

It was only the second casino in New Zealand when it opened in 1996. And whilst it is not going to challenge for the title of biggest casino in the world, it is a magnet for casino-goers from across New Zealand and Australia thanks to its position of being one of very few in the entire Oceania region.