High stakes
Leave nothing to chance when choosing a luxury casino for your destination. At these resorts, pampering is a sure thing.
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Don't gamble on accommodations when you plan your next casino vacation. Any one of these luxurious escapes would be a safe bet.
Sun City Resort
Sun City, South Africa
www.suninternational.com/Destinations/Resorts/SunCity
011-27-11-780-7800
With the world's longest zip line, quad biking (all-terrain vehicles), horseback riding, a water park, the Gary Player and Lost City golf courses, and an adjacent safari park, the biggest danger at Sun City Resort (aside, perhaps, from the crocodiles on Lost City's unlucky 13th hole) is that you might forget to place some wagers. Fortunately, a shuttle ferries guests between the four hotels - including the posh 338-room Palace of the Lost City, with mosaics, frescoes, and hand-painted ceilings - and the 268-slot Jungle Casino and the Sun City Hotel Casino, offering 333 slots and 39 gaming tables. Lost City rooms from about $410.
The Venetian Macao
Macao, China
Reclining in an Italian gondola in this Portuguese- speaking territory of China, you might find that the multicultural mélange makes your head spin faster than a roulette wheel. Never mind. Lie back and enjoy the ride when you reserve one of the 3,000 lavish suites at this fanciful homage to Venice, with 750 gaming tables and 3,000 slot machines. If you can escape the gravitational pull of the world's largest casino, you'll also find four outdoor swimming pools, mini golf, a spa, 30 restaurants, a theater, and an arena. Suites from $1,698 a night.
Wynn Las Vegas
Las Vegas
1-877-321-9966
Whether billionaire developer Steve Wynn is engaging in subliminal advertising or shameless self-promotion with his enticingly named Wynn Las Vegas, he's created a winning combination of fantasy and excess. The 2,716-room resort includes a 90-foot waterfall; a "Lake of Dreams," where you might spot a giant floating head or a figure walking on water, thanks to multimedia wizardry (and perhaps a martini or two); an 18-hole Tom Fazio golf course; and a Ferrari and Maserati showroom. Handy, if you're hankering for a new set of wheels after winning at the $10 million penny slot machine - one of about 1,920 slots in the casino. There are also 130 gaming tables, a baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, a poker room, and a race and sports book. Rooms from $189 a night.
Monte Carlo SBM Hotels
& Casinos
Monte Carlo, Monaco
http://en.montecarloresort.com
011-377-98-06-30-00
One risk you don't want to take in Monte Carlo is being underdressed. The Casino de Monte-Carlo, an opulent belle époque beauty with 315 slots and 35 tables, requires "proper attire." That means no sports footwear, no uniforms, and if you hope to gain entry to the Salons Privés, gentlemen, remember your jacket. Just steps away on Place du Casino, the glamorous, gilded Hotel de Paris, with 182 rooms and suites, may even inspire you to break out the tux when you dine at its three-Michelin-starred Le Louis XV-Alain Ducasse restaurant. Hotel de Paris rooms from about $464.
Atlantis
Paradise Island, Bahamas
1-888-877-7525
High rollers can have their fill of fish - and chips - at Atlantis. Not only does this seaside resort boast the Caribbean's biggest casino, with 82 tables and 862 slots, but it's home to the largest open-air marine habitat, with dolphins, sharks, piranha, and 50,000 other aquatic critters. Take a break at one of 13 swimming pools, the water park, rock-climbing center, or spa, or dine at restaurants from acclaimed chefs such as Nobu Matsuhisa, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Bobby Flay. Choose from six hotels, including The Cove Atlantis, offering 600 suites and an outdoor gaming pavilion beside an adults-only pool, flanked by cabanas. The Cove suites from $720. I