Australian high rollers are increasingly flocking to a number of worldwide destinations to satisfy their quench for gambling. Expedia Australia released a list of the top ten destinations chosen and it revealed a spread across the globe. The list includes the planet’s top two casino destinations, Macau and Las Vegas. In addition, another of the Far East’s stellar gaming paradises also finds its way into the top ten.
Manila in the Philippines has been the base for many a successful gaming firm, whether it’s online or offline, for some time. On the subject of Manila, Expedia commented, “Manila provides great value for Aussies wanting to live the high life overseas.” This is thanks to the “wide range of shopping and entertainment options,” and the presence of a “world-class casino at the Hyatt Hotel.”
The remainder of the list includes Monte Carlo in Monaco, Paradise Island in the Bahamas, the Australian city of Melbourne, the beautiful German getaway Baden-Baden, South Africa’s Sun City, Atlantic City, and Genting Highlands in Malaysia.
Officials on the Pacific island of Saipan may be looking to tap into the riches of the casino industry. It’s estimated in some quarters that it could generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the small island. The uppermost proponent of the plans is even risking a lawsuit to get his point across.
Rep. Froilan Tenorio (Cov-Saipan) in an interview with Saipan Tribune, said that a “fully-developed” casino industry could bring in “easily $500 million a year in revenues.”
He went on, “There’s nothing more attractive than casinos. Right now, we don’t have to build more new hotels if we just depend on the regular tourists-tourists that come here just to relax and go swimming. We don’t need new facilities anymore. [But] once we have casinos the casinos will attract all the new investments, first-class investments.”
Many in Saipan are awaiting licenses running out in Macau so that they can exploit that market, House Speaker Eli D. Cabrera commenting, “Guess where they want to go? They know their players, they know their high-rollers. [We] are hoping they can relocate here.”
That could be some way off. Although given that it’s not that far away geographically, favorable conditions could be enough to attract any number of companies.
