When you’re heading out to a casino, you probably dress for the occasion. In the world’s very highest end casinos, that might mean a tuxedo for gentlemen or a ball gown for ladies. Even if you’re not going quite that formal, it’s generally considered polite to wear a jacket and a dress shirt for men, and a cocktail dress for women. Casinos are considered to be high society venues, where people come to be seen as much as they come to play games.
That sense of occasion also spreads to the buildings that casinos are located within. There’s a big difference between the ‘feel’ of playing a game of poker around a table in a bar with friends, and playing the same game with a professional dealer in a professional establishment. The right building can lend a sense of theater to even the most basic of gambling games, which elevates the feeling of drama and importance.
Of course, with so many traditional casino activities having moved online since the dawn of the internet age, it soon won’t be necessary to head down to a casino and feel that thrill in person. The age of virtual reality casinos is almost upon us, which will allow fresh, new names in the online slot market such as Money Reels to offer live, ‘real’ gaming experiences to customers, alongside their extensive offering of slot games. As the technology develops, customers will be able to put on a headset at home and be transported to a luxury casino anywhere in the world. We’re not quite there yet; so let’s take a look at the most architecturally stunning casinos in the real world right now. With a bit of luck, you’ll be able to make virtual reality visits to them in the near future!
The Monte Carlo Casino
To be clear here, we’re talking about the original Monte Carlo Casino (known by the locals as ‘Casino de Monte-Carlo) which is actually in Monte Carlo;, Monaco not the building of the same name in Las Vegas, which is now known as ‘Park MGM’. This is one of the oldest and most visually stunning casinos in the whole world, dating all the way back to 1859.
If you were to look upon the casino, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it might be a royal palace. You actually wouldn’t be far from the truth; the casino technically belongs to a public company, but it’s a public company that the Royal Family of Monaco own a large stake in. This is the world’s definitive ‘glamour’ casino. What makes us say that? Well, it was used as a filming location for the James Bond movie ‘Casino Royale’, original Bond author Ian Fleming used a picture of the building to write his own description of a beautiful casino in the book that ‘Casino Royale’ was based on, and the location was used yet again for the casino scenes in ‘Ocean’s Twelve’. When you’re Hollywood’s go-to location for opulent casino shots, you have to be the best in the world.
Caesar’s Palace
There are countless casinos in Las Vegas; they’re almost the entire reason that Vegas exists at all. Out of all of those casinos, for us, one had the edge in design and creation. It’s the place that makes you stand back in awe for a moment when you first see it, and it’s Caesar’s Palace.
The size alone is enough to give you pause for thought; the venue contains 15,000 square meters of casino game space, and that’s before you even take into account the vast spa and the shopping facilities. It’s the attention to detail that really makes Caesar’s stand out; if you ignore the electronics around you, you could truly feel that you’d been transported back in time to Ancient Rome. Everything is perfect; the statues, the marble, the sense of vast wealth and power. Even the ceiling designs; which in theory the people who run the place don’t want you looking at, because you should be focused on the games; are incredible.
The Grand Lisboa
Macau – the former Portuguese colony that now belongs to China – is something of a newcomer to the global gambling stage. That’s not to say that gambling hasn’t gone on there for some time, with a great deal of success, it’s just that until recently the rest of the world doesn’t seem to have noticed the vast amount of wealth that had accumulated there. Perhaps that’s why they built the Grand Lisboa – a towering, 58 floor structure that’s comfortably the largest building in Macau – to get our attention. It worked.
As if the sheer size of the place wasn’t enough to catch your eyes, there’s also the fact that it twinkles in a way that would put even Vegas to shame. There are over one million LED lights on the external dome of the tower – which is a world record – which turn this into a glowing beacon of fun. It’s not as ‘classical’ in its design as the previous two entries on this list, but not everything that’s great has to look alike. The Grand Lisboa is great.
The Sun City Casino Resort
What do you consider when you’re building a new venue and want it to have a unique twist? Well, if you’re clever, you’ll think about how to maximize the value of the area that surrounds you. That’s how the Sun City Casino Resort in South Africa stands out; if you’re tired of playing games, or just want a break, you can go on safari as well. Find us another casino on Earth where that’s possible.
The Sun City Casino is such a classic design that we have to constantly remind ourselves that it was only completed in 1979. Set deep in woodland, with a private pool, this looks like the kind of location that only the rich and famous would dare to dream of entering, managing to effortlessly appear exclusive and exotic. This is a piece of design paradise that happens to have casino tables in it, and we’re in love with it.
Having been through that list, and seen what the most beautiful casinos in the world have to offer, we’re hoping that VR technology gets up and running in the very near future. If it doesn’t, it might be time for us to go and get our passports renewed!
