Published at 23. 6. 2009 in category
MainMonaco is one of the smallest countries in the world but it is known to almost everyone. The combination of beautiful countryside and the Mediterranean Flair makes it one of the most famous places in the world. Since Monaco has also very low taxes, many famous European sports and movie stars decided to live there. For tourists, the Monte Carlo Casino is one the greatest attraction within the principality. Interestingly, the casino is opened only for tourists. Even the Royal Family is using a side entrance to participate in social events like opera balls. The history of legal gambling in Monte Carlo started already in 1854, in 1858 the Monte Carlo quarter was established and the first casino was build. Today the casino offers different types of roulette, blackjack, poker, craps, Baccarat as well as slot machines. In 1873, Joseph Jagger, an engineer, broke the Bank at Monte Carlo. He found out that a single roulette showed several numbers more frequently than others. By using this knowledge, he was able to win huge amount money. Since the casino changed the tables and afterwards also the frets, Jagger left Monte Carlo forever.
Published at 28. 5. 2009 in category
MainBesides the MGM hotels and casinos, there are many other hotel and casino complexes at the strip. Directly between the Bellagio and the Mirage, the Cesar’s Palace is situated. The hotel complex consists of 3,348 rooms. The hotel was built in 1962 but since then several changes and reconstructions have been made. The Cesar’s Palace is known for its outstanding cultural and sports events. Usually, the Colosseum Theatre shows highly rewarded performances and shows of international stars. Since the 1970s, the Cesar’s Palace has been used as scenery for many movies. The northern end of the strip is marked by the Stratosphere, a giant freestanding tower and hotel complex. The Stratosphere was opened in 1996. The tower itself has two observation decks, a restaurant and the highest thrill ride in the world. Two other casinos and hotel resorts charge a gambling license – The Palazzo and The Venetian. The Venetian is an outstanding five diamonds rated hotel. Together they form the largest hotel and casino complex on Earth. The combined complex includes the two hotels, a casino resort and an Expo Convention Centre. The whole complex is outnumbering the MGM Grand in terms of size and number of rooms. Since 2005, the Blue Man Group performs at the Resort. Since 2006 the new theatre at The Venetian shows ‘Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular’. The casino at the Venetian offers more than 120 different games. Another world city was used as a theme for a Las Vegas casino; it is Paris, the cultural centre of the world in the end of the 19th century. The Paris Las Vegas Hotel has small reconstructions of the most famous Paris buildings including the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. Not surprisingly for a casino resort with a French Theme, the resort has certain highly rewarded restaurants. On the whole Las Vegas Strip, there are even more well-known casinos. The most known ones are the Planet Hollywood, the Four Seasons Hotel and the Tropicana Resort. Although all of them are luxury hotels and casinos, they are not as famous as the other casinos.
Published at 18. 4. 2009 in category
MainThe Luxor Hotel and Casino are a remarkable building and an incredible casino. They are built as a glass pyramid containing 31 floors. In front of the building, an accurate 1:2 model of the original sphinx is placed in order to support the Egyptian Style. Between 2000 and 2005, the Blue Man Group was performing their very famous show in the Luxor Theatre. At the tip of the luxor, a giant light beam has been installed which is pointing directly upwards. The beam can be seen from the whole Las Vegas Valley. New York-New York Hotel and Casino is another famous casino at Las Vegas Strip. The hotel uses the theme New York in different ways. It is built in a way that reassembles the skyscrapers of New York City. In front of the hotel, a (half-size) model of the Statue of Liberty is placed. All restaurants and gambling areas and special places within the hotel are named after well-known places or neighbourhoods of NYC.
Interestingly, all these hotels and casinos are owned by the MGM Mirage. It is one of the big investors and casino owners in the whole world. Some other well-known tourist attractions are owned by MGM, like the Excalibur, the Mandalay Bay or the Treasure Island. The Mandalay bay is a luxury hotel casino. From May 2009, a new Disney Lion King Musical will be shown at the local theatre. The Excalibur is named after the mystical sword of King Arthur. Therefore, the whole façade looks like a beautiful, magic castle. An attraction for families is the unbelievable huge swimming pool. The time it was opened, it was the largest swimming pool in the world. In the near future, MGM is planning to open the City Center, another 5 stars hotel, which will set new standards for Las Vegas Casinos. Approximately 12,000 employees will work at this new casino.
Published at 20. 3. 2009 in category
MainNowadays, the Bellagio is one of the top casinos in Las Vegas. The Bellagio casino and hotel complex consists of a casino and a 5 star top hotel. The artificial lake including large water fountains in front of the hotel is one of the most photographed places in the entire US. It was opened in 1998. The resort employs about 10,000 people. The Bellagio has agreed to host several events on the World Poker Tour, including the WPT World Championship in 2003.
Another very famous Casino is the MGM Grand Las Vegas. It is the second largest hotel on Earth offering 5044 rooms. Not less than 16 restaurants are placed on the MGM property, which was opened in 1993. With 171,500 sq. ft., the MGM casino is the largest casino in Las Vegas. The entrance of the casino is guarded by giant lion statue.
Published at 27. 2. 2009 in category
MainLas Vegas was established in 1905. As proven by satellite photos, the metropolitan area of Las Vegas is the brightest one on the whole planet. In 1931 the state of Nevada legalized gambling in Las Vegas and the first casinos were opened. In general, the city of Las Vegas can be divided into different quarters. The most famous ones are located at the Southern End of Las Vegas Boulevard, better known as the strip. Each one of these grand hotel casinos is very close to the international airport, has thousands of slot machines, hundreds of tables and more than 2000 hotel rooms. Along the Las Vegas Strip, 15 of the top 20 hotels concerning the number of beds are situated with an overall capacity of more than 60,000 rooms, each one connected to a major casino with hundreds of gambling possibilities. Las Vegas downtown casinos are more traditional and much more cheaper than the more glorious ones at the Strip. But also there, you can experience the pure Las Vegas gambling feeling.
Published at 14. 1. 2009 in category
MainThere are thousands of casinos in the world, but the glamour of casinos is shining only from a very few places over the whole world. The most famous casino city in the world is without any doubt Las Vegas, Nevada, the USA. But there are also some famous casino cities. Monte Carlo, the European most famous casino place is placed in the Principality of Monaco at the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Another famous casino city in the US is Atlantic City, New Jersey. The fastest growing casino city in Asia is Macau. Besides Hong Kong, Macau is the other special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. Therefore gambling and casinos are explicitly allowed in Macau. The latest thrill in the casino business, are the cruise ships. Cruise ships are modern entertainment resorts. For the night entertainment, there are several casinos on board of those cruise ships.
Published at 11. 12. 2008 in category
MainAll games usually played in casinos are usually controlled more by luck than skills. Consistently for all games is a rule, that on a long-term time scale the casino is the only winner. Generally, the games can be divided into certain groups. The gaming machines like slot machines or video poker can be even found outside the casinos. The most typical game played at a casino is the roulette game which is a typical random number game. Another important class of casino games are card games. The most common ones are the all variants of Poker and Blackjack. The last class of well-known casino games are dice games, like craps or Sic bo. The latter one is very famous in Asian Casinos. Some of the games, like roulette or Blackjack are played against the “house”. Every winning of a player is a loss for the casino and vice versa. Other games are played exclusively against other players but not against the casino. In these cases, like in a standard Poker game, the casino takes charge for the room and the services directly from all players either as a fee or as a percentage of the played pot.
Published at 21. 11. 2008 in category
MainThe glamour of the most famous casinos in Las Vegas, like The Bellagio, The Cesars Palace, The Mirage or The MGM Grand, has been used in many movies and mini series. Most of them are playing with the stereo types of the Las Vegas Glamour World. Especially Poker Games are used very often for a confrontation between the main characters for a non-violent battle. The Poker game is the game of bluffing and absolute total self control, therefore it is perfectly suited to combine the glamour of Las Vegas with the glamour of Hollywood. Usually the game ends in a showdown between the main characters with very high ranked hands. In this way, the fascination of gambling, casinos and Poker is brought to huge audience. As shown in most movies, the famous casinos pay a lot of attention to security. The casinos want to make sure that they will not be tricked by a group of players or dealers. The enormous amount of money that circulates in famous casinos is a huge attraction for many people. All famous casinos are watching their croupiers and their players constantly. All cards and dice are changed regularly and in accordance with a very strict regime. All slot machines are sealed and checked regularly by the Local Gaming Commission.
Published at 8. 10. 2008 in category
MainAccording to some legends, casinos are places of bluffs, unbelievable cool players, extraordinary beautiful women, alcohol and unlimited money and wealth. The attraction of every casino is the unlimited luck of an ordinary man and the chance to become unbelievably rich and happy. Therefore, in many motion pictures the key scenes take place in casinos. Deep inside his soul, every player in a casino believes that he has the perfect strategy to win the final jackpot. All games offered at a casino do favour the bank over the player for long-term period. But all these models are based on the uniform distribution of cards or a cast of dice. A small change of the odds can favour a player. Therefore, there still exists the never ending battle between the players and the casino for chips and money. Most famous casinos are huge entertainment complexes with hotels, restaurants and shopping malls. Some of the most famous casinos are well known for their hospitality for important sporting or concert events.