The casinos of Las Vegas still grab the headlines, and the visitors. Nevada legalized casinos in 1931, and it has the oldest, and by far the most. But the rest of the nation is starting to catch up. America's 800 casinos are spread over 37 states. New casinos are going up in surprising places - Detroit, Philadelphia, Kansas, maybe Maryland and Massachusetts.
The Dark Side To Casino Growth
Critics see a dark side to the explosive growth of casinos (such as the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, pictured). Casinos make things harder for some 8 million problem gamblers in the U.S. Whatever the promised benefits, there are hidden costs for the communities in which the casinos are located. And where money flows, corruption follows: Indian casinos were at the heart of the Abramoff lobbyist scandal.
Atlantic City Expanding
The first casino opened in Atlantic City, N.J., in 1978. There are now 11, forming a casino skyline that is reflected in the water early one recent morning. Over the next five years, Atlantic City will greatly expand. At least four companies are investing a total of about $9 billion. Revel casino will be 710 feet tall; an even taller MGM Atlantic City will have 5,000 slot machines, 200 table games.
Atlantic City Imploding
The Sands Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City was imploded on October 18, 2007 - a process that took less than 30 seconds - to make room for a $2 billion casino by Pinnacle Entertainment to be built by 2012. Critics might see this as a metaphor: While the casinos have spurred jobs and development in the region, and contributed to state revenue, they have not reversed the decline of the city itself.
Atlantic City Incompetence, Or Competition?
Complaints against the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City resulting in denial of license renewal in mid-December 2007. New owners had laid off 900 employees this year, a quarter of its workforce, which the union says led to poor service, bad food, and such unsanitary conditions as bedbugs and roaches. The casino blamed its problems in part on new competition from Pennsylvania and New York.
Casino California
The Morongo Casino Resort and Spa, with its dazzling entrance driveway, is one of scores of Vegas-style tribal casinos in California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger convinced the legislature this year to allow four tribes to add 17,000 new slot machines. The Morongo Band of Mission Indians in Cabazon, Calif., were the plaintiffs in a 1987 Supreme Court decision that legalized tribal casinos.
Casino Connecticut
The Mashantucket Pequot Indians of Connecticut, seeing an opportunity in the Supreme Court decision, and a subsequent federal law, created what became the biggest casino in the world, Foxwoods. This enabled them to build a $193 million museum and research center (top left), and encouraged the Mohegan Tribe to follow suit with the Mohegan Sun casino (bottom) 12 miles away. In 2006, the two grossed $1.7 billion.
Casino Connecticut
The Mohegan Sun casino and hotel seems to loom ominously, and that is how the surrounding communities see it, with the increased crime, traffic, and cost of maintenance, which are largely unreimbursed by the state. Now both casinos are expanding: The Mashantucket Pequots are planning a new gambling operation on tribal land in partnership with Vegas-based MGM Grand, and won a casino license for Philadelphia.
Casino Florida
The Seminole Indians of Florida were reportedly the first Native American tribes to open a high-stakes bingo game in 1979. In 2004, they opened two Hard Rock Hotel and Casinos; here Seminoles Herbert and April Jim attend the grand opening of the one in Hollywood, Fla. Now their six casinos have raked in billions, with each of the tribe's 3,320 members getting $120,000 a year. In 2007, they bought the Hard Rock chain.
Casino Florida
Their casinos offer more than gambling (the Sopranos Swan Song; International Fight League World Championship Finals, etc), but the Seminoles made a deal with Gov. Charlie Crist in 2007 that would allow them to upgrade to Vegas-style slot machines, blackjack and baccarat in exchange for sharing the proceeds with the state. Partly in response to the tribe's success, the state allowed racetrack casinos in 2006.
Casino Detroit -- MGM Grand
The new MGM Grand Detroit, an $800 million hotel and casino, opened to the public at midnight Oct. 2, 2007, in Detroit, Mich. It is billed as the first Vegas-style resort built in a major metropolitan area, with 400 suites in a 17-story tower. MGM has operated a smaller, temporary casino in Detroit since 1999.
Casino Detroit
The parent company of the MGM Grand Detroit, says it expects its investment to fuel much-needed economic growth and the redevelopment of downtown Detroit. It is both hope that casinos can serve as a magnet for redevelopment, and fear of casinos in neighboring states or in unregulated tribal casinos, that has prompted officials to proposal casinos in Massachusetts, Maryland, Kansas and elsewhere.
Casino Detroit - MotorCity
There are three new casinos in Detroit. The new MotorCity Casino Hotel, a 17-story tower with 400 rooms, is considered more modest than MGM Grand Detroit, though they are charging up to $8,000-a-night for their penthouse suites (average room rate, however, is $87).
Casino Philadelphia
Jethro Heiko of the Fishtown neighborhood in Philadelphia stands outside his row house with signs opposing the planned construction of the nearby Sugarhouse casino, Sept. 19, 2007. Though Sugarhouse and another planned slots parlor in South Philadelphia are essentially a done deal, an opposition group hopes to stop Philadelphia from becoming the largest city with casino gambling.
Casino New Orleans
Members of Casa Samba dance and welcome visitors outside of Harrah's Casino during the casino's reopening in New Orleans. Harrah's New Orleans Casino was closed for almost six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans Metro area.
Casino Mississippi
Mississippi legalized casinos in 1990 but restricted them to the waters of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. After Hurricane Katrina, the state legalized inland casinos. The Beau Rivage Casino and Resort is one of the casinos around Biloxi, Miss., that employ 17,000 people. They are thriving. In general, though, the coast is making a slow comeback.
Casinos - Common Thread
As a hobby, David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Studies, photographs casino carpets. Clockwise from upper left: NYNY (Las Vegas); Boomtown (Biloxi, Miss.); Barona (California tribal); Resorts (Atlantic City); Slots o Fun (Las Vegas); Ameristar St. Charles (Missouri riverboat). Many still think only of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, but Schwartz says, "Americans are never far from a chance to take a chance."