Traveling the world and exploring cities opens up your eyes to see how others different from yourself live their lives, how alternative cultures are played out every day, beliefs are upheld, and daily routines undertaken. It’s insightful, educational, an unforgettable experience, and lots of fun.
Travel is the one thing you pay for that makes you richer, and seeing the world is quite simply priceless. Once the travel bug hits you, it’s very challenging to try and shake it off but, really, why would you want to? Travel serves to enrich your life, so get out there, don your backpack, pack your camera and enjoy!

Let’s now cut to the chase and explore some of the magnificent cities across the globe and why you absolutely must visit them in your lifetime.

Los Angeles
You won’t be short of activities and sights to see while in LA, however narrowing down what you have time to do can be a bewildering task. Of course, you want to explore every square inch and see all the famous landmarks that this incredible city has to offer you, but in order to get the very most out of your trip, you should prioritize.

The beaches in Santa Monica shouldn’t be abandoned from your list and neither should the ridiculously cool and edgy streets of Silver Lake. A Los Angeles travel guide is going to come in extremely handy, especially if you want the scoop on the best places to stay, things to do in LA, and where to eat the tastiest food around town.

Reykjavik
Iceland is, quite frankly, a place like no other and it’s remarkably liberal. Timing is crucial when visiting Iceland as the summer nights are bright from morning until night. Since Iceland is situated just below the Arctic Circle, it is daylight for a continuous 24 hours from mid-May until late July.

Budapest
Budapest is a staple feature of many lists featuring a spread on the best cities to visit in the world. It’s brimming with history, intrigue, and fascinating architecture to boot. It’s known for its eclectic mix of nightlife and ruin pubs. There are many scattered all over the city, and your challenge is to find the ones that most appeal to you. Be sure to find out more about each one and don’t be shy to pop your head in to have a look. The Danube River runs through the heart of Budapest, and the city has been home to civilization since The Stone Age. The waters here could tell of many stories, sadness, and mysteries.

Moscow
Although Russia might not be at the top of your list of places to visit given its political stance on many debates and world issues, the architecture of the country itself really is something to behold. Moscow is home to the Kremlin, and walking within the walls of the Kremlin surely is astounding – the name itself translates as “fortress inside a city.” The Red Square is just a short walk outside of the Kremlin and features the world famous onion-domed Saint Basil’s Cathedral as well as Lenin’s Mausoleum.

Gambling has been a part of our culture for thousands of years; however, one of the most iconic and popular forms of gambling is visiting a casino. In Ancient China, the love of number games was always prevalent, but the word ‘casino’ translates to the Italian phrase ‘Little House,’ which refers to a building that has been built specifically for leisure. Centuries ago, these buildings would have been used primarily for dancing, music and drinking, with a hint of gambling on the side.

How did casinos go on to become a place that attracts the rich and famous and what lies in store for the future of casino gaming?

The birth of casino gaming

At the start of the Roman Empire, it was believed that all children were taught to gamble with the simple act of throwing a dice. One Roman emperor was even thought to have designed his carriage to allow gambling to take place while he was off duty. Although this form of gambling was just a fun past time amongst friends, there was never a designated building in which it officially took place. Gamers would meet up in secret, and the authorities did not agree to a gaming building until as late as 1638.

It was then during the 18^th and 19^th centuries where the term ‘casino’ was introduced. Soon after, this industry began to boom throughout the world, with casinos popping up in an array of locations such as Baden-Bade in Germany and the world-famous Monte Carlo. Casino gambling was shifted to a whole new level entirely as according to ThoughtCo, it is a game that can be learned.

The bright lights of Las Vegas

When many of us think of casinos, our minds immediately jump to Las Vegas. Where Traveler provides all the information newbies need to know about visiting the attractions and especially the iconic casinos which have become so familiarized with the resort. But how did Las Vegas find itself on the casino scene in the first place?

It all started back in 1905 when railroad workers were laying tracks to connect Vegas to the Pacific coastline. Due to the intense labor that they were faced with, their favorite past time led to gambling which caused a great deal of bad behavior. Although gambling was banned until 1931 in Nevada, people still decided to gamble in secret. The popularity of this form of gaming encouraged the very first casino to open in 1941 in El Rancho, Vegas.

What’s in store for the future of the casino?

Although choosing to gamble at the casino was first and foremost a social occasion, it seems that people in the current day and age are choosing to bet online when alone. Threatened by the shift to online gaming in the late 1990s, casino venues started to adopt a relaxed attitude on their regulations. Companies such as Unibet now provide customers with great offers such as the likes of free spins and bonuses to encourage gamblers to play throughout the day, from the comfort of their own home.

Final word

From its very humble beginnings to the bright lights of Las Vegas and beyond, it’s safe to say the casino gambling industry has truly stood the test of time. Movies such as the likes of James Bond and Ocean’s 11 have shown casino gambling as a past time of the rich and famous and has stemmed a desire in many people to try their hand at this iconic gambling game.

Gambling is an industry that keeps developing from one year to another. But the trend nowadays is not limited to offline casino games. There are online gambling machines that became even more popular than those you can find in actual casinos. And the best gamblers know to grow to appreciate both types of games and make the most out of them.

If you are exiting about gambling and you aspire to become a great gambler, there are certain role models you could follow! Here are the world’s most famous casino gamblers of all times and why you should strive to be like them!

Amarillo Slim

Amarillo is one of the most envied gamblers that ever existed. He was a master of poker in Texas and became known all over the world thanks to his skills and success. Even if Amarillo was also into racehorses and the gambling aspect of this industry, he remains famous for his poker skills and intuition that was not evened out by no other player. The great gambler was born in 1928 on the 31^st of December and died in 2012 on the 29^th of April.

Archie Karas

Archie is another important gambler who won over Las Vegas. He got in this amazing city with only $50, and he created a fortune based on his gambling skills. He came from Greece in 1992, and his real name was Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis. But his true victory was to turn his $50 into a fortune of 40 million dollars. The famous gamble was both on the 1^st of November in 1950 and became an icon in the casino industry.

There is no slot machine that this guy would not master and if you follow him, you have a lot of ticks to learn! If you are as brave as this Greek gambler, you could make it even further than him. So keep up the good game and play those machines!

Phil Ivey

Phil Ivey is a gambler who took poker and baccarat to the level of artistic activity. He learned to master not only the skills needed for these casino games but also what it takes to create a fortune out of them. He was born on the 1^st of February 1977, and he learned to build his way up rather fast and unexpected. His fortune was created mostly in London and Atlantic City, but he reached international fame very quickly.

If you are looking for a role model that made it to the top when it comes to gambling, Phil Ivey is the type of guy you want to follow. Phil is still active in the industry, even if in a more relaxed way. He proved what he wanted to prove and all he can do now is enjoy the incredible success that made him known in all the parts of the world.

Conclusion

There are many successful gamblers all over the world. And while most of them became famous thanks to their fortunes, they should have been famous for their incredible talent as well. You will notice that these gamblers tried most types of gambling until they decided to specialize their activity on a certain niche.

So, if you are interested in just online slot machines, this doesn’t mean that you should ignore the best of the games. You might discover that your talent resides somewhere else, and you will get better and better at your game strategy. Keep an open mind when it comes to gambling and leans from the best to discover your true potential. But you have to start somewhere so don’t be afraid to give it a fair try or more!

Las Vegas was established in 1829 to serve as a trade route between California and Mexico. The city didn’t always look the way it is now. Rare retrospective photos show swim-up gambling tables, the charm of 1950’s showgirls and vintage cars parked outside casinos for a weekend getaway. 

New developments and renovations have significantly altered the face of the famous Las Vegas Strip. Many of the world’s largest resort properties, hotels and casinos are located on the Strip. Many casual gamblers are also playing on the internet in casinos like the bet365 online casino for example. If you are looking to play at the newest online casino, you will definitely find one that suits your needs. Online casinos offer a wide range of games that you can play anytime, anywhere. The Strip is actually not located in the city limits of Las Vegas. It is under Clark County’s jurisdiction.

Hotels

The Strip got its name from a former vice cop and businessman from Los Angeles. It was named after the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. The Strip showed signs of development in the early 1930s, but it saw a boom in growth in the 1940s. The Flamingo Hotel is one of the earliest resorts on the Strip, built by Meyer Lansky and Benjamin Siegel. The hotel opened in 1946.

Riviera and Tropicana are also among the oldest resort hotels on the Strip. The Stardust Resort and Casino presented production show spectacular in 1960. The Tropicana Hotel bought the American rights to Folies Bergere in 1959. The show continued for almost 50 years, closing only in March 2009.

The Las Vegas Convention Center also opened in 1959. It aimed at occupying vacant hotel rooms with convention delegates during the slack tourist months. The convention center now offers 1.5 million sq. ft of exhibit space and over 5.5 million convention delegates visit Las Vegas yearly.

Casinos

Multiple coin slot machines were introduced in the 1960s. Computerized dollar slot machines replaced nickel slot and mechanical penny machines. Payouts also increased. From a few hundred dollars, players can now win several million dollar progressive jackpots.

Caesars Palace, a luxury hotel and casino, opened in 1966. Several hotel-casinos opened in the following years. A lot of older hotels were demolished in the late 1990s to allow for the construction of new mega-resorts. The Sands Hotel and Casino became the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, while the Dunes Hotel became the Bellagio. The Hacienda Resort Hotel and Casino became the Mandalay Bay, and the Desert Inn became the Wynn Las Vegas.

Steve Wynn is recognized for building some of the most luxurious hotels in Las Vegas. He changed the city’s reputation as a gambling area to be a classy resort destination. Wynn introduced the era of expensive and luxury hotels in 1989. He built the Treasure Island, Bellagio, and Mirage on the Strip. Wynn also brought Cirque du Soleil to Treasure Island and Las Vegas. There are currently 7 Cirque du Soleil shows playing in Vegas. The Bellagio, Mirage, and Treasure Island were purchased by MGM Grand Corp. in 2000. Wynn built the Wynn Las Vegas, one of the most expensive resort-hotels in Vegas, in 2005 on the land previously occupied by the Desert Inn. He opened Wynn Macau in 2006.

Aside from the large resorts, casinos, and hotels, the Strip is also home to other attractions like the Fashion Show Mall, M&M’s World and Adventuredome. The area was a popular celebration destination during New Year’s Eve in the mid-1990s. In 2006, the Strip lost its status as the highest-grossing gambling center in the world to Macau.

Today, Las Vegas hosts almost 38 million visitors every year. The average stay in Vegas is 3.6 nights. Hotel consolidation has become quite common in recent years. The city’s nearly 150,000 hotel rooms are 80% occupied throughout the year. The 10 largest hotels in the US are located in Las Vegas. The largest is the Venetian & Palazzo with 8,107 rooms. The MGM is the second largest hotel in Vegas, with 6,582 rooms. Wynn has 4,750 rooms, Caesars offers 4,000 rooms, Aria and Excalibur have 4,000 rooms, and Bellagio has 3,950 rooms. Other joints like Mirage, Flamingo, and Cosmopolitan have over 3,000 rooms. Las Vegas Sands, MGM, and Caesars control more than half of the rooms on the Strip.

The prices of hotel rooms tend to be higher during the weekend. Tours, attractions, entertainment, and shows operate all week long. Room rates are based on supply and demand. Prices are high when there’s a high demand. Convention sites and hotels in Vegas host a lot of smaller conventions every week.

Renovations and new additions provide Las Vegas and the Strip with a contemporary appeal. Visitors can also frequent nightclubs, specialty retail, high-end dining, and spas. Each property has a unique design, layout and aesthetic. The Strip will continue to grow, so more changes should be expected in the future.