Top 10 Casinos in the World
When it comes to putting a list of the 10 top casinos in the world together, the important things to consider are not size or the number of tables within each property - but what makes them the best is entirely subjective.
If you think your local Genting offering in Birmingham is one of the best gaming destinations in the world, then it probably is… What’s right for you is right for you. Having said that, no casinos from the West Midlands made it onto our list, but who knows what the future might hold?
How Did We Construct This List?
There are plenty of casino lists that are based on size, which we feel is a distracting issue when it comes to determining the best in the world. Some of the biggest casinos in the world do feature on this list, but not for their size alone. The things we considered include:
- Games offering
- Layout, design, decor and ambience
- Facilities, catering and hospitality
- Entertainment and accommodation
- Historical and iconic status
It’s not required for casinos to tick all of the above boxes to feature on this lis; these are just some of the factors that we have taken into account to create our own list of the 10 must-visit casinos in the world to visit.
10. Casino De Venezia, Venice, Italy
One of the benefits of visiting this casino is that you actually are in Venice and don’t need to create an artificial version of the city, as has been done in Las Vegas and Macau.
The casino in Venice is one of the oldest casinos in the world and is situated in a historic building directly on the Grand Canal that runs through the famous city. You can cross the river in a real life gondola and then walk the final few yards to the casino entrance, before beginning your gaming session.
The building includes a maze of small rooms with slot parlours on the ground floor, while the serious gaming takes place on the upper floors. It’s not necessary to spend a huge amount of time here, but it’s worth seeing, as it’s a very historic building.
It is where the famous socialite Casanova spent much time gambling and making the social connections that cemented his reputation as one of the 18th century’s most famous playboys.
The high ceiling of the main gaming room, which spreads
There have been several famous poker events here in the past, such as The World Poker Tour. However, it has not hosted a major poker event for several years and has now returned to being a quiet and classy casino, which every fan of casino history should visit at least once.
9. Marina Sands Bay, Singapore
The Marina Sands in Singapore is more than just a casino, with the lavish resort, which opened in 2010, being the most expensive one ever built - costing almost £7bn to construct.
In addition to the 600 gaming tables and 2,300 slot machines, the property also includes a 2,500-room hotel. The world’s largest infinity swimming pool is situated on the Sands Skypark, a platform which extends across the top of the hotel’s three main towers.
There is an extensive shopping centre, a convention centre, an indoor ice rink and even a science museum located at the property, making it a truly all-round destination resort for families, as well as adults.
As if that wasn’t enough, there are also two ‘floating’ pavilions on the waterfront of the property, one hosting nightclubs, while the other serves as the Louis Vuitton Island Maison. There is no poker room, but with so much else to do at the Marina Sands Bay, it’s not a significant omission.
There are several celebrity chef restaurants, including offerings from Wolfgang Pick and Gordon Ramsay at the Las Vegas Sands-operated resort.
8. Kings Casino, Rozvadov, Czechia
Rozvadov is a small village in Czechia, situated on the border with Germany. It began life as a small slots casino attracting day trippers from across the border. Early on its existence, it began to specialise in poker tournaments.
For over a year it ran a weekly tournament, which missed its prize pool guarantee almost every single time, until the venue’s reputation began to spread. It soon became recognised as one of the most serious poker venues in Europe and the casino then began to expand.
The addition of a dedicated poker arena and a new casino floor between 2015 and 2017 more than doubled the overall size of the property. A five star hotel was also added in 2017, plus a richly decorated private salon, whose walls are adorned with paintings by French impressionists and more modern art works, including one by Andy Warhol.
Through these expansions, the casino was able to increase its gaming offering to include 700+ slot machines and more than 30 gaming tables, in addition to the 200 poker tables.
There is a near 24-hour buffet for guests and an excellent A La Carte restaurant on-site. The casino was owned by art collector Leon Tsoukernik until mid-2024 and still bears many of the features that he built, such as a private helicopter pad.
The venue’s dedication to poker is obvious, with a permanent television set right next to the main gaming floor, for live-streaming final tables and high stakes cash games.
Casino Admiral, which is directly across the road, is also owned by Kings Casino and acts as an additional hotel, with a large hall offering the best slots and a handful of table games, which operate at peak times of the year.
Entry to the casino is chargeable, but includes access to a 24-hour buffet. Extra perks include comped drinks, hotel rooms and shuttle services for qualified players.
Kings Casino has hosted many famous poker events and tours, including the World Series of Poker. The casino first held a WSOP event in 2017 and has since become the home of the World Series of Poker in Europe, hosting its annual $10,000 buy-in Main Event.
The casino has also hosted many other tours, such as the Eureka Poker Tour, 888 Live, Party Poker Live and a special land-based version of the Sunday Million by PokerStars.
7. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, is one of the best-known casino resorts in the US. It opened in 2004 and is owned and operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida Indians. The resort has 140,000 square feet of gaming space and 1,275 luxurious hotel rooms, surrounding a large lagoon-style pool area.
It is best-known for one of its three hotels, The Guitar Hotel, which is a glass-fronted 450-foot replica of a Gibson guitar, with 35 floors of guest accommodation. As per other Hard Rock properties, rock and roll memorabilia is draped all over the place, especially in the guitar hotel.
The casino is a big one, with over 3,000 slot machines and 200 gaming tables. It is also known as a poker casino, which hosts two World Poker Tour (WPT) events per year, in April and November.
The Hard Rock brand is built around music and the Hollywood resort has a 7,000-seater venue, Hard Rock Live, which hosts concerts and sporting events. It may not be the best venue for older clientele, but with nightclubs and pool parties, it’s a hot destination for the younger generation.
6. The Hippodrome, London
Situated in the heart of London, adjacent to bustling Leicester Square, The Hippodrome Casino is housed inside an historic venue in London’s entertainment centre, just off Charing Cross Road. This UK casino underwent a major renovation before reopening as a casino in 2012.
Inside there is a main gaming floor, positioned exactly where the orchestra pit would have been and extending out into the empty space that would have once been the stalls.
The venue has been painstakingly restored, retaining many features of the original building into its design and replicating others in a practical way. Part of the neighbouring housing block, Cranbourne Mansions has been incorporated into the design of the new building, to provide additional gaming space and a PokerStars branded UK poker room.
There is even an extensive upper deck area, with some semi-outdoor and fully outdoor areas, which are used for gaming, when weather permits.
When the venue was a theatre and music hall, one of the most famous entertainers who performed there was Houdini. Nowadays, if you get out of here with our entire bankroll still intact, you’re already matched the efforts of the great magician in days gone by.
There are over 100 slot machines and many table games in the casino, as well as a sports bar, steak house, Chinese restaurant and several other bars and lounges.
The venue has not completely abandoned its past either, with a 180-seat cabaret theatre within its walls.
It’s a great venue to explore, with lots of theatrical memorabilia lining the walls. Whether you’re there to gamble, play poker or simply to meet someone for a drink, it’s an interesting and exciting venue to visit.
5. Wynn-Encore, Las Vegas
The Wynn and Encore are interconnected sister casinos in Las Vegas. The Wynn opened in 2005 at a cost of $2.7bn for owner Steve Wynn, while the Encore was completed in 2008.
Between the two there are 4,750 hotel rooms and 183,000 square feet of gaming space. There are 1,800 slots, more than 135 gaming tables, a 28-table poker room and a large sportsbook in each property.
Both casinos and hotels are beautifully decorated, with colourful floral sculptures and themes on the walls and carpets. Outdoor areas are adorned with the real thing and there is even an artificial lake, mountain and waterfall, which adds to the relaxed ambience of the venue.
There is a high-end shopping mall and a Formula One showroom in the walkway between the two casinos. There is also a resident Cirque du Soleil show ‘Awakening’ and a comedy theatre with visiting acts. Advance bookings are required for shows and most of the restaurants.
The buffet is considered one of the best in the city, charged at $75 a head for dinner. If you’re in need of something more cheap and cheerful, Tacos El Gordo is a three minute walk from the Encore reception, where your meal should set you back less than $20.
The Wynn is well-known for its poker room, which is one of the busiest in the city and hosts regular tournaments, as well as cash games. The World Poker Tour hosts its world championship event in the conference centre of the Encore every December, which in 2023 had a $40m guaranteed prize pool for its $10,400 Main Event.
Additionally, there are several nightclubs and pool parties that take place in summer months, making it a great choice for those wanting a party, as well as those who seek peace and tranquillity.
4. Grand Lisboa, Macau
This is another of the large Macau casinos to make the list, but this one is not on the Cotai Strip, but in the older part of Macau. The Grand Lisboa has been included mainly due to the unusual design of the building, which has a unique lotus flower-themed glass exterior.
The property is a part of the business empire created by the late Stanley Ho, who owned a large number of the casinos in the former Portuguese colony. Macau was handed back to China in 1999 at the same time as the UK relinquished neighbouring Hong Kong.
From the guest rooms inside the hotel, there are amazing views over the rest of Macau and the bay stretching towards Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. It may not be as large as some of the other casinos in Macau, but it is a stylish one and has an ample game offering, with close to 300 gaming tables and nearly 1,000 slots.
Most of the table game action is focused on Punto Banco (Baccarat) and it is not uncommon to see crowds, three deep, surrounding tables that are running hot. Blackjack, roulette and other table games are also available but are not nearly as popular.
You won’t find a poker room at this casino, although it did host a PokerStars live room for several years, before they vacated to make way for additional slot machines.
3. The Venetian, Cotai, Macau
The Venetian in Macau has the biggest gaming floor of any casino in the world, with 800 gaming tables. While this isn’t the original Venetian Casino (the first being in Las Vegas), when it comes to gaming, it is far bigger than that original casino.
The Cotai Strip casino has been designed in the same way, with precise details of original designs from Venice worked in, to give the venue as authentic a feel as possible.
The gaming hall is a sight to behold, stretching in every direction, a vast parlour of casino games. It is divided into four separately themed areas, each with its own style and decor. The themes of the gaming areas are Golden Fish, Imperial House, Red Dragon and Phoenix, which house most of the venue’s 3,400 slots and 800 gaming tables.
There are also some separate high roller and private gaming salons in other parts of the property, while the poker room is situated on the main gaming floor.
On the level above the casino floor, a long and winding shopping centre intertwines with indoor sections of a replica Grand Canal, which makes its way outside into an artificial lake, for gondola rides and photo opportunities.
If you’ve ever been to The Venetian in Las Vegas, this one is a similar experience, except for the gaming, which is on a whole new scale in Macau. This is one of the casinos to see before you die, if you’re keeping a bucket list.
2. Casino de Monte-Carlo, Monaco
The Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco is one of the most historic gambling venues in the world. It opened in 1865, and is housed in a beautiful building designed by Charles Garnier, surrounded by delightfully manicured gardens.
Although it is one of the major attractions of the principality, local citizens (known as Monegasque) are prohibited from gambling within its lavish walls.
The casino is known for having had many famous real life and fictional visitors. Perhaps the best-known of the fictional variety is James Bond, who gambled at the casino in more than one of the 007 movies.
Actor Sean Connery (who played Bond and was seen at the casino in the 1983 film, Never Say Never Again) liked to attend the casino in his own free time.
Other famous visitors to the casino have included Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Bill Gates.
Indeed this is not your average run-of-the-mill casino, nor a spit ‘n’ sawdust joint, this is the very high end of the high end. Don’t expect to be granted admission if you turn up in jogging shorts and trainers. Even if you can’t get in, you can still admire it from the outside.
Formula One fans will be very familiar with the location, as the world’ famous motor race, the Monaco Grand Prix, passes right by the front door of the casino.
When it comes to gaming, the limits are all very high. In fact, if you have to ask what the limits are, you clearly can’t afford to play there. The venue does have many slot machines and table games, but it sells itself not on the number of each, but on the rich history and exclusive status as a casino for the rich and famous.
While most of the poker events that take place in Monte Carlo are now held in the Salle des Etoiles at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, the Casino de Monte-Carlo has held some prestigious tournaments of its own in the past.
In 2004 and 2005, the Monte Carlo Millions was held there, the latter of which was won by Phil Ivey and featured one of the most rewatched hands in televised poker history, when Ivey won a monumental bluffing war with the UK’s Paul Jackson.
1. Bellagio, Las Vegas
The Bellagio Casino is one of the most iconic casinos in the world, with its famous fountains and ornate decor really catching the eye. It stands out as one of the premier properties, despite no longer being one of the new kids on the block on a busy Vegas Strip.
It opened for business in 1998, and is perhaps best known for the starring role it played as the location for the main heist in the 2001 blockbuster movie, Ocean’s Eleven.
It has also been subject to a few real life heists, such as in 2011 when a biker bandit robbed $1.5m in gaming chips from a high limit Craps table, but was caught after trying to sell them on an internet poker forum.
A further robbery occurred in 2017, when another masked robber made off in a Chevy Cruze after robbing a cashier for an undisclosed small sum in the venue’s poker room. This all happened as Doyle Brunson and James Wood were at a nearby poker table with over $200,000 in-play.
The same robber attempted a second robbery at the casino in 2019, making off with $35,000 before engaging in gunfire with police in the parking lot, where he was shot dead. He was posthumously recognised for his efforts with a Darwin Award.
The Bellagio has over 130 tables and 2,300 slot machines across its stylish gaming floor, which also houses a poker room and a large sportsbook. Within the poker area, there is also a high stakes ‘Bobby’s Room’, which has hosted some famous high stakes cash games over the years.
The Bellagio has many fine dining options, as well as the water-themed Cirque du Soleil show ‘O’ on-site. Water is the most prominent theme of the resort, which includes an artificial lake and Italian-style villas in front of the casino.
The fountains in the centre of the lake put up one of the best free shows in Las Vegas, with the water jets synchronised to music to perform different ‘dances’ every 30 minutes throughout the day and every 15 minutes during the evening.
There used to be a room within the casino called the ‘Fontana Lounge’, which had an amazing view of the lake and the fountain shows. However, it is sadly closed, with the space now converted into a modern restaurant, with no windows at all.
Another great feature of this casino is the atrium next to reception, which changes its display every month, sometimes hosting mini-expos and usually incorporating colourful flower arrangements.
All in all, it’s an extremely pleasant casino to stay and play at and is located right at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.
