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 | Hot Bets
Tips from our SportsBook expert
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Gamble Mt. Everest!
Vegas too tame? Here are five exotic gaming getaways--some you may be afraid to visit, but then won't want to leave
By Jefferson Reid
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• Contact info:
2-4 Avendia de Lisboa, Macau; (853) 377-666; lisboa@macau.ctm.net
• Rooms:
943
• Rates:
$102-$300 per night
• Casino: 146 tables, 107 slots
• Amenities:
13 restaurants, pool, sauna, beauty salon, nightclub, health club, massage
• Attractions:
Portuguese colonial architecture, museums and parks are plentiful in the small city-state--and the pubs and clubs of Hong Kong are close at hand
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Hotel Lisboa and Casino, Macau
If you want to get away, you can't get much further from the Strip than the Hotel Lisboa, located in the former Portuguese territory of Macau and just a stone's throw from Hong Kong. (Well, okay, it's an hour's ferry ride, but if you've gone halfway around the world already, that's not so far.)
Till now, billionaire Stanley Ho, who runs the Lisboa and 10 Macau casinos, has had a monopoly in the relatively autonomous Chinese protectorate. But Steve Wynn and other investors are on their way in--to build some massive new casinos, which should have a more Western flavor. There's still time, however, to check out the old-school gaming dens in this "Monte Carlo of Asia." The casinos are small by Vegas standards but swarming with action and high-limit games, often with players packed five-deep at the tables.
All the high-roller action stems in part to proximity to the Hong Kong financial center. Plus, folks flock here from all over China (where gambling is forbidden) and Southeast Asia. Money talks, even on the fringes of Communist China, and this city of 500,000 raises 40 percent of its revenue from gaming.
As for your gaming options, you can play slots (though these are less prevalent than stateside), high stakes blackjack (up to $3,000 per hand!), European roulette (the single-zero wheel) and $100-minimum baccarat, as well as Asian games like boule, fantan and dai-siu. The Lisboa also features Macau's most famous floor show, the oddly titled Crazy Paris Show, which is advertised as being "For Adults Under 100 Years Old." Nutty.
If the high-stakes, high-energy jolt of Macau casinos leave you feeling wired, you can always chill out with golf, museums or take in the city's Portuguese colonial-style architecture. Or you can be contemporary and check out the ponies, hit the dog track or watch some jai-lai. And there's always the big bad city of Hong Kong, if you need to get away from your getaway.
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• Contact info:
Thessaloniki, Kentriki Makedonia 55103, Greece; 30 2310 491 234; casino@hyatt.gr
• Rooms:
152
• Rates:
$202-$777
• Casino: 900 slots, 87 Tables
• Amenities:
Business center, health club, indoor pool/outdoor pool, tennis courts
• Attractions:
Beaches in Chalkidiki, monasteries of Mt. Athos, Byzantine Museum
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Regency Casino Thessaloniki, Greece
If you're looking for Eurotrash, you can find plenty on the Strip in Vegas. But if you're looking for Euro Class, you'll be well served by a trip to the Regency Casino. One of Europe's largest and most luxurious, it's clogged with upscale wagerers, most of whom hang in the exclusive casino-within-a-casino, the Club Regency--which features a private entrance and ultra high-limit tables. But even the main casino is classy by comparison to its stateside cousins. Which means, sporting flip-flops and Bermudas might make you feel a tad underdressed in this elegant hotspot.
As for the games themselves, choose from American-style roulette, blackjack, poker, punto banco (a variant of baccarat) and 900 state-of-the-art slots from low stakes to super high. And when you need a break from breaking the bank, you can stroll the exquisitely manicured gardens, which the casino shares with a fully appointed Hyatt Regency (about three blocks away). Or you could see a show in the 550-seat theater or grab a bite in one of the Regency's restaurants--there's Okipo's outdoor garden café, Jewel's buffet right near the gambling action and fine dining in Alfredo's.
Nestled beneath the picturesque mountains of northern Greece, the Regency is only about five miles from the bustling downtown of this city of a million and also conveniently located adjacent to the airport. But it would be a waste to sky off into the sunset the second you're done gambling. Ancient history and culture abound in this chic, cosmopolitan Macedonian city named after the sister of Alexander the Great.
Fabulous beaches on the Aegean Sea are less than an hour away and historical wonders abound, with Byzantine architecture second only to Constantinople. Thessaloniki was founded in 315 B.C., and there was a city here 2,000 years before that. Talk about old money!
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