Asia is home to the biggest and best casinos in the world. It stands to reason considering Asia is also the biggest continent in the world.
If you’re looking for a casino resort, Las Vegas isn’t the only place to search. Asia is a popular destination for grandiose casinos, and as economies on the continent improve, so will the gambling industry. Countries like Macau and the Phillippines are competing with Las Vegas, and offer stunning resort experiences in superior locations.
Here are some of the best casinos to find in Asia.
Macau
The former Portuguese colony was given back to China in 1999 and acts as a special administrative region with its own separate government. The regional economy is reliant on casinos with around 80% of total tax revenue coming from casino gaming.
Casino gambling was legalised in the region in 1962, opening the door for some of the most magnificent casinos on the planet. With more large casino resorts, the unemployment rate dropped significantly.
The Venetian
The Venetian Macao is a hotel and casino resort owned by Las Vegas Sands. The casino hotel has 39 stories and covers 10,500,000 sq ft. All of this makes The Venetian Macao the largest casino in the world, the largest single structure hotel building in Asia, and the seventh-largest building in the world in terms of floor area.
Besides hospitality and casino games, there are areas for shopping and business conferences making it the ideal place for business and pleasure (if you can afford it). There’s also a 15,000-seater arena used for sports and entertainment called the Cotai Arena.
Parisian Macao
The Parisian Macao is also owned by Las Vegas Sands and features an Eiffel Tower replica at half the size of the original. It’s relatively new, opening in 2016, and has around 3000 hotel rooms, nearly 200 shops and a 1,200-seat theatre where shows like Thriller Live have taken place.
As you can tell from the name, the theme for The Parisian Macao is Paris. There’s a retail arcade with brands such as Adidas and Calvin Klein.
MGM Macau
The name might sound familiar to people with interest in films. It comes from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film studio bought by Kirk Kerkorian and through numerous business deals, the studio’s name was reduced to its initials and became part of a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Pansy Ho, a billionaire and daughter of Stanley Ho (the owner of our next casino in the list).
The 35-story, 600-room casino resort opened in 2007 and cost $1.25 billion (USD). Like the others, it has a wide range of restaurants and bars as well as space for businesses and weddings.
Grand Lisboa
Remember when we mentioned Pansy Ho and her father, Stanley Ho? Well, his company SJM Holdings owns the Grand Lisboa.
The casino has 47 floors, 800 gaming tables and a 1,000 slot machines. It doesn’t hold the same stature as the other casinos but it has the distinction of being the tallest building in Macau. It was also the first Macau casino to offer Texas hold ’em poker and craps.
Singapore
Singapore has an illustrious economy and ranks in the top-3 in the world for foreign exchange centres, finance, oil trading, and casino gambling market (where they rank 2nd). Within that market, Singapore have two of the biggest casinos in the world
Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands is owned by Las Vegas Sands like Parisian Macao and The Venetian. It cost $8bn (Singaporean dollars) to build including land costs. The resort hotel has 2,561 rooms, a convention-exhibition centre, a mall, a museum, two large theatres, and the world’s largest atrium casino. And that’s just some of the features in the resorts.
Resorts World Sentosa Casino
This casino is part of Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa which also includes a Universal Studios theme park, a water park, and an aquarium.
At the time of construction, it was the third most expensive building ever. In the casino, natives and residents are charged a $100 fee per entry or $2000 annually and that doesn’t include the regulatory spend of 50% imposed by the government. Their money goes to public and charitable causes but foreign visitors can enter for free as long as they provide their passport. Think of them as wager requirements for residents and no wagering for foreign tourists.
Philippines
The Far East nation have a glut of casinos governed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), who collect the third-most revenue for the Philippines. PAGCOR also operates its own casinos in the country.
Resorts World Manila
Resorts World Manila Casino is part of an integrated resort that also features four hotels, casino games, a mall, cinemas, restaurants, and entertainment venues. It’s owned by the same companies that run Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.
The resort was part of a disaster that cost the lives of 38 people after a stampede and fire caused by a robbery.
Solaire Resort and Casino
The casino resort based in Entertainment City is a complex with two five-star hotels, entertainment venues and a casino with over 1,500 slot machines and 360 gaming tables.
City of Dreams
City of Dreams Manila is owned by Melco PBL Holdings who also own City of Dreams in Macau. The Manila casino opened in 2015 with performances from the likes of Ne-Yo and Kelly Rowland.
The resort has 6 hotels and the casino has nearly 300 gaming tables and over 1,600 slot machines.
Okida Manila
Another Entertainment City casino is Okida Manila, which opened in 2016. The complex has a hotel with 993 hotel rooms and a casino with 3,000 electronic gaming machines and 500 table games. The complex also has a wellness centre, a children’s activity facility, and a mall.
Conclusion
The majority of the resorts and complexes in the list were built within the last 10 years, showing how large the market is for casinos in Asia. Many are owned by the same companies and opportunities for new ones crop up regularly. You wouldn’t find any budding casino providers on The Apprentice betting but if you did, they’d want to look at Asia for their next venture.