World's Most Expensive Casino Properties by City
Anyone that has visited Las Vegas or Macau can attest that modern casinos are some of the most elaborate and luxurious buildings ever constructed. Four of the world's top ten most expensive properties ever built are casino resorts that mix gambling with world class hotels and experiences. Ever wonder where the biggest, most expensive casinos ever built are located? The answer may surprise you. Let's take a tour of the world to see them in all their glory.
1. Singapore
Think Vegas is the king of casinos, think again. Although Las Vegas casinos may vastly outnumber the amount in Singapore, it is the latter's two giant casino resorts that top the most expensive casino properties in the world. Coming in at number four on the list of the world's most expensive buildings, and most expensive casino, is the $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands Resort which boasts the world's largest atrium casino, a 2,561 room luxury 5-star hotel and even an ice skating rink. The second most expensive casino is the $4.93 billion Resort World Sentosa which is on the island of Sentosa located off the coast of Singapore. It contains a Universal Studios theme park to go along with two fabulous casinos as well as the world's largest oceanarium, the S.E.A. Aquarium.
Marina Bay Sands Resort
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
2. Macau
Macau may not be as famous as Vegas to Westerners but its gambling revenue is a whopping seven times greater. And Macau's most expensive casino, the $4.1 billion Wynn Palace Casino, is more expensive than any casino in Las Vegas and comes in third for most expensive casino properties. It also cost a billion dollars more than the Wynn Resort in Vegas that comes in at number five. Located on the Cotai Strip, the Wynn Palace Macau is the preferred gaming table destination for Chinese big rollers and has an amazing six total Forbes 5-Star ratings for the hotel, spa and four of their restaurants. There are a few more Macau casinos in the top ten including the Venetian Macau and City of Dreams that make this a gambling destination to be reckoned with.
3. Las Vegas
Las Vegas is the most renowned casino destination for gamblers especially given the staggering amount of movies made about the city. Unsurprisingly, it also hosts many of the most expensive buildings in the world including the Bellagio, The Palazzo and the aforementioned Wynn Resort. The most expensive casino property in Vegas, and the fourth in the world, is the $3.9 billion Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The complex boasts nearly 3000 rooms and a massive casino but the property value has taken a huge hit. Deutsche Bank was forced to sell the casino in 2013 for $1.7 billion in cash after it performed poorly, representing a loss of over two billion dollars from the initial building investment.
4. Atlantic City, NJ
Atlantic City has fallen on some hard times recently but that hasn't stopped it from hosting a few of the most expensive casino properties. Most notably, is the $1.1 billion Trump Taj Mahal, which aside from being built by the, sometimes controversial, 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, it is also noteworthy for having failed entirely to the point of closing in October, 2016. All is not lost, in March, 2017 Hard Rock International came to the rescue and plans to turn it into the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City.
5. Niagara Falls, Canada
A surprise on this list, but with all the billion dollar plus casino locations already mentioned, the next area of distinction falls on the small Canadian city beside the massive Niagara Falls. The appropriately named, $1 billion Fallsview Casino Resort allows unprecedented views of the Falls along with a hotel, spa and restaurants. Unlike in America, Canadians have the option to legally play at online casinos, so it is odd that the country would build such a massive casino when everyone can learn how to play at home or on their mobile. With a GDP and population of roughly 1/10th that of the USA, it is impressive that Canada has such a large casino.
6. Online Casino Properties, Gibraltar
In the age of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it is quite appropriate to talk of virtual properties amongst the most expensive casino properties in the world. It is worth a look to see how their value fares against their land based casino competition. Most online casinos do need to register at a physical location, like Gibraltar or Malta, so that will be their virtual city. Passing over companies like William Hill and Ladbrokes, which also have a land based presence, there are few online casinos valued at, or close to, one billion dollars. 888 Holdings, operators of 888 Casino, have a market cap of over $950 million and trade on the London Stock Market but the largest is GVC Holdings PLC which has a market cap of over $2.3 billion. Although it may be cheating a bit as they run a few online casinos including Party Casino and Sportingbet. The largest online casino player is not even a casino at all. Playtech PLC has a market cap of over 3 billion and run Playtech software that is used by many major online casino operators like Casino.com.
