The World’s Largest and Smallest Casinos

Whether we are talking about slot machines, blackjack, roulette, or poker, gambling is definitely one of the most popular entertainment activites in the world, even though most people see it as a serious addiction. Every continent has notable casinos, from Middle East to Africa, Asia, Europa to North America and Australia, but we’ve strived to find the biggest casino as well as the smallest gambling venue on Earth.

Wherever you go, you’ll find some casinos, and all of them have one little thing in common: they ‘help’ you lose money and if you are lucky, win something. However, it’s a different feeling to lose or win in the largest casino on the planet.

There are several land-based casinos dotted around the globe which have gaming floors so small that you could easily believe you entered an apartment. On the same note, there are casino resorts which are so huge that you chould easily get lost for hours in them. If you’re an avid gambler, the following is going to be of great interest to you.

Santa Ysabel – The World’s Smallest Casino

Santa Ysabel is one of the world’s smallest casino and located in North County, San Diego. It’s actually a ‘slot arcade’ set inside a mini-market and is run by the La Jolla Indian band. Located near Palomar Mountain, it measures 600 square feet and it was the size of a two bedroom apartment in 2005.

Santa Ysabel was at the time 30 times smaller than Las Vegas’ smallest casino – Slots-A-Fun Casino and 1000 times smaller than The Venetian Macao, the largest casino in the world. It featured 30 slot machines in a roadside mini-mart and hopes to become a ‘big player’ one day. It seems that the casino has been struggling financially for years and has debts of more than $50 million.

The owners have upgraded the casino in 2007 after carefully considering the economic climate in gaming in that region. It seems that insurmountable challenges have plagued the company from the beginning. Even though it now has 349 slot machines, the Santa Ysabel Casino is still the smallest in San Diego County.

The casino is set far from big population centers and has a remote location. In addition to this, there are much bigger Indian casinos in the area so the casino has been struggling for years.

Venetian Macao – The World’s Largest Casino

The Venetian is a 10,500,000-square-foot (980,000 m2) luxury casino resort located on Macao’s Coastal Strip. The owner is Sheldon Adelson who also manages the Las Vegas Stands. The Venetian has a gaming floor which boasts a staggering 870 tables, 3,400 slot machines, 4 pools, 24 world-class bars and restaurants, 3 huge shopping areas along with over 3,000 hotel rooms. It’s truly a gambler’s haven! The Venetian was opened on 28 August 2007, is a $2.4 billion investment and boasts 39 stories, being modeled on its sister casino resort The Venetian Las Vegas. The casino alone measures 546,000 sq ft (50,700 m2).

The Venetian is the flagship casino resort on Macao’s bustling Cotai Strip and showcases a romantic theme with the canals and streets of Venice. It’s family-oriented but naturally most of the romance is lost through the thousands of slot machines that constantly flash at you.

Records

The 7th-largest building on Earth by floor area
The biggest casino in the world
The largest single structure hotel building in Asia-Pacific

Controversies

In 2008, the Venetian locked the gates to the construction labour force from many Asian countries because projects were suddenly suspended. At the time, the project manager laid off about 400 employees. No severance was due since many workers had been there for less than 24 months.

In 2010, the Chinese media reported that authorities had found approximately 100 prostitutes inside the Venetian as part of a ‘sex-trade crackdown’.

In 2011 the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and Department of Justice started an investigation into the LVS Corporation (which owns the Venetian) regarding the compliance of its Macau properties with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Do you feel super lucky? Can you run away with tons of cash from your favorite casino? We mean run away by winning through its machines and on its tables and not by creating a malefic plan to steal money big time like what Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and George Clooney did in Ocean’s 13. If you’re ready to roll the dice and hit the jackpot, book a flight to these casinos or play online.

Closing Thoughts

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