Betting in Las Vegas
In 1931, the Nevada State government opened up the gambling market to the general public by legalising all games of chance. Around that time the country was emerging from the Great Depression and it was thought that the promotion of the gambling industry would be advantageous to the state. As a result, Las Vegas grew to become the world famous entertainment hub that is known today. When combined with the casinos available in the nearby municipalities of North Las Vegas and Henderson, the city of Las Vegas can claim to host over a third of all the gambling venues in the state of Nevada. Thanks to its worldwide tourist appeal, the city’s gaming industry generates billions of dollars worth of revenue each year. The famous Las Vegas Strip stretches 4.20 miles along the Vegas Boulevard. It is home to some of the world’s biggest casinos and hotel resorts. A high proportion of the establishments are owned by two competitive companies, MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment.
There are four huge resorts located on the Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard intersection. Between them, the New York-New York, Excalibur, Tropicana and MGM Grand facilitate hundreds of gaming tables, thousands of games machines and a staggering number of guest rooms. To the west side of the strip one can find the MGM Resort complex called City Centre which offers the Aria Resort & Casino, which houses over 4,000 guest rooms, 2,000 games machines and more than 200 table and poker games. The 90,000 square-foot complex known as Treasure Island is one of the few independently-owned gambling venues on the strip, as is the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas; a 150,00 square-foot gaming venue incorporating a 3,000 room hotel. Commanding the central part of the Las Vegas Boulevard is Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, both owned by Steve Wynn who competes for business with Sheldon Adelson’s neighbouring Venetian and Palazzo Casino Resorts.
The Stratosphere occupies the northern end of the Strip. It is somewhat of a landmark with a tower extending 100 storeys high, crowned with the highest free-standing viewing platform in the U.S. Despite its international reputation, the Strip is not actually located within the official city of Las Vegas but instead forms part of the township known as “Paradise” on the south side of the city. Authentic Las Vegas casinos can be found in the downtown district around Fremont Street. Famous venues such as the Golden Nugget, the Four Queens, Binions, The D and the Plaza are all located in the pedestrianised Fremont Street Experience complex.
Other major venues located away from “The Strip” include the Brazilian-themed casino known as Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino, the Palms, the Gold Coast, Ellis Island, Tuscany’s, the Silverton, Terrible’s, the Southpoint and LVH. The popular M Resort can be found in the Henderson district.
Boyd Gaming and Station Casinos are both highly successful local companies located in the Las Vegas Valley. Boyd Gaming operates many venues such as Texas Station, Boulder Station, Sunset Station, Red Rock, Palace Station, Green Valley Ranch, Aliente Casinos and Fiesta Casinos. The Station Casinos Company owns the Suncoast, the Orleans, Sam Town and Joker Wild’s.
Also outside of the Las Vegas Strip are a profusion of pubs offering primarily video-poker gaming. Further casino chains such as Cannery, Jerry’s Nugget and the Silver Spike can be found in North Las Vegas and provide Strip-Style gambling and gaming tables to the residential areas. Enterprising bookmakers such as William Hill have entered into the Las Vegas industry by trading their brand inside existing pubs and casinos to create competition with traditional sportsbook businesses. Another betting company called Cantor Gaming has establishing itself with mobile casino games as well as sports and race betting. It is obvious to see that Las Vegas is truly a unique destination for wagering activities.
