Foreigner gambling in Atlantic City? Must bring passport

by Iva Skoch on

A friend was telling me last night that her French boyfriend, who lives in New York, got kicked out of the Borgata, a casino in Atlantic City. He wasn’t even gambling; he was just there with her. The reason? He didn’t bring his passport and his French driver’s license was not a sufficient form of ID. Only passports or IDs from the US are accepted.

That is so stupid. It is so easy to get a New York ID. You don’t even have to live in New York to get one. Why wouldn’t they accept a foreign ID? It’s not like we are talking about using it to get into the Pentagon. It is a casino.

Needless to say, he was not happy. They stayed in a $500/night suite at the Borgata, which apparently didn’t help them. Of course, to book that room, they didn’t need a passport. I don’t think they’ll be going back anytime soon. This is how the French boyfriend described Atlantic City: “You step outside the hotel and it’s like a third world country.” Couldn’t say it better myself.

Airbus to introduce Flying Casino

by Iva Skoch on

I can’t believe nobody has thought of this before. The concept of losing all your money before you even get to Vegas will be a hit.

Las Vegas Sands, the casino operator within the United States and Macau, announced earlier this week that it is hoping to launch VIP charter flights between Hong Kong and Las Vegas featuring baccarat tables in Lockheed Martin planes.

Now, AFP reports that Airbus is actually talking to several of their loyal customers about the possibility of converting their A380 super jumbo jet into a Super Jumbo Flying Casino.

Airbus claims that the first Flying Casino could be delivered as early as 2012, which–let’s face it–in Airbus-speak means 2020. By that time, the dollar will be worth about as much as the Mexican peso. Let’s hope they take frequent flier miles and serve free drinks!

A musuem you can’t refuse

by Brett Atkinson on

One of my favourite Scorcese movies is Casino.

(It’s not as good as Goodfellas, but hey, what is?)

So it’s cool to see a new museum being planned in Las Vegas dedicated to the role of the Mob in making Las Vegas what it is today.

I haven’t been to Vegas yet, but I wish I’d seen it in the glory days of the Rat Pack and the Tropicana. Once I do get there I might be disappointed with the contemporary lure of all-you-can-eat salad bars and Cirque de Soleil.

Of course, Casino was set a few years after the 1940s and 1950s period the musuem’s going to focus on – a time when a gangster nickname like Bugsy, Lefty and Sneezy was nothing to be sneezed at.

OK, I made that last one up.

The musuem is scheduled to open in 2010.

Don’t fuhgeddabout it, OK?

Thanks to Hometown Invasion Tour on Flickr for the pic of Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo.

Spain to be home to Europe’s largest casino

by Abha Malpani on

Spain’s lottery market is one of the largest in the world; it is home to the world’s fattest Christmas draw (El Gordo) that amounts to Euro2.20 billion(!), the country has slot-machines in almost every bar, and countless mini-casinos in every city.

I don’t know what the scene is like in other European countries, but trying your luck at some sort of gambling on a daily basis can totally be considered part of Spanish culture and tradition. With the high variety and demand of national and local level daily ‘money-winning’ opportunities in the country, gambling has often, and rightly, been called a national obsession.

So, it is no surprise that Spain has just declared building what will be Europe’s largest casino resort in Zaragoza — the 5th largest Spanish metropolitan that is located about 200 miles from Madrid. Tentatively called “Gran Escala” (Grand Scale), this ‘Vegas’ will cover 5000 acres, include 32 hotels and 5 theme parks.

A few years ago, the estimated amount spent on gambling by Spaniards was Euro22.68 billion, with older figures showing that every Spaniard spent Euro435 annually on the same. The country’s gambling market is expected to grow to Euro39 billion by 2010.

I guess everyone would love to sweep the table in a game of poker or win the lottery and never have to work again; here Spaniards try day-in-day-out to make that dream into a reality.

Top 10 gambling destinations

by Martha Edwards on

I’ve never been much of a gambler. Maybe it’s because I’m cheap and parting with money that I’m probably not going to get back just doesn’t seem like a good idea, or maybe it’s because I’m not much of a risk taker. Nonetheless, lots of people love to gamble and as long as they’re not sending themselves into serious debt, all the power to them. But where does one go to gamble? The casino down the road is a bit boring .. and smelly. You could head to Vegas, but everyone does that. According to MSNBC, here are the top 10 gambling destinations in the world:

  • Aruba
  • Atlantic city
  • Goa, India
  • Macau, just off the coast of China (It’s just like Vegas, apparently)
  • Mississippi Gulf Coast
  • Monte Carlo
  • Nassau and Paradise Island
  • Niagara Falls
  • Sun City, just outside of Johannesburg in South Africa

I guess it shows how much of a gambler I am — I’ve never been to any of these places, other than Niagara Falls (but I went there for Maid of the Mist, not the slots)