Costliest Casinos

If the several multi-billion dollar casinos built in the last decade are any indication, then the world's most popular casino companies seem to embrace the phrase, “it takes a large fortune to make a small one.” While the recent economic downturn has slowed development in the U.S. and Europe, massive casinos and resorts are still being built in several parts of the world.

The mega-casino craze first started with the Wynn Las Vegas. Steve Wynn had long been one of the world's most extravagant casino owners, and with his namesake property he set out to make his mark on Las Vegas forever. When it first opened in 2005, the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas was by far the most expensive casino ever built; the luxury was evident from the top of its glittering facade to the bottom of its $1100 martini (with diamond-studded swizzle stick). Wynn didn't hold the costliest casino record for long, though.

As gambling revenues surged in the Chinese district of Macao, casino operators scrambled to make the city's casinos bigger and better. The $2.4 billion Venetian Macao rivaled the Wynn Las Vegas in both budget and size. Today it is still the biggest casino and resort in Macao, but prior to the economic downturn it was supposed to be just the beginning of a $12 billion project aimed at recreating the Las Vegas Strip.

Another new gambling mecca has taken shape in Singapore. Two competing resorts will be opened in late 2009 and 2010: the $5.4 billion Marina Bay Sands and the $4.4 billion Resorts World Sentosa.

Wynn may no longer own the costliest casino in the world, but when MGM's $11 billion City Center project is completed in 2010, it will reclaim the title for the city of Las Vegas. City Center will not only be the costliest casino in the world, it will be the costliest development of any kind. At 76 acres and with 6000 rooms, the project is meant to resemble a city inside the city.