Top 10 Casino Gaming Companies In The World

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Looking back 50 years, casinos were usually single entities that operated in 1 or 2 cities. The famous ones were generally in Las Vegas and became that way due to television exposure.

That’s far from the case today.

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Casinos have become hospitality brands. Hotel chains now house casinos around the world. And casinos that were once single entities are now chains that include hotels. Even restaurants have entered the casino business.

Some of the brands have merged with other brand and have formed mega corporations where 2 or 3 casinos under the same umbrella may be in the same city.

That’s not to say that the single entities have disappeared. Actually many still exist. The reason is that the growth of the industry has allowed more of the casinos to be built.

And they aren’t just building in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. They’re building in South Korea, Macau, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Windsor, and many more.

In some cases, these mega-corporations are offering immersive experiences for visitors that not only include lodging, dining, and gambling. They build theme parks, malls, entertainment complexes, and beaches to attract customers. And because they deal in volume, can offer great rates and perks.

1 – Las Vegas Sands Corporation

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Sands was the place to go and be seen in Las Vegas. After all, it was the hangout for the infamous Rat Pack – Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop as well as their friends and other celebrities. While it flourished in the 60s, by the late 70s, the hotel had lost its luster.

Ownership changes were made in hopes of sparking interest back into the resort. Ownership passed from Jake Freedman to Howard Hughes to Kirk Kerkorian and eventually to Sheldon Adelson. Adelson was the one who made the decision to demolish the legendary hotel and casino.

But the name was an asset, so he kept the name as the name of the current parent company, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. The name also is used for the convention center building across from the old Sands Hotel and Casino, the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

After demolishing the Sands, Adelson started construction on The Venetian in 1997. This was followed in 2005 by the building of the Palazzo on adjacent property. Combined, the Sands Expo Center, the Venetian, the Palazzo, along with the shopping, dining, and entertainment complexes on the properties make the world’s largest integrated resort. It contains 7,100 all-suite rooms and over 2 million square feet of convention and exhibition space.

World

To expand the entertainment complex, the ground was broken in 2018 on the MSG (Madison Square Garden) Sphere Las Vegas at the Venetian. Once completed, the venue will contain:

  • 7 interior levels
  • Private suites
  • Luxury seating
  • Restaurants and Taverns
  • A 70,000-square-foot. 19,000 x 13,500 resolution LED screen display that will wrap around the interior of the bowl
  • A 360-degree IMAX display which will allow those who are outside of the venue to see what is going on
  • A Museum
  • Retail shops
  • An 1,100-foot-long elevated pedestrian bridge that will connect the sphere to the northeastern portion of the Sands Expo Center
  • A monorail station to serve the MSG Sphere and The Venetian

As of the beginning of 2019, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation owns 11 resorts. Of the other 10 resorts, 3 are located in Las Vegas, 1 is in Singapore, and the remaining 6 are located in the Macao (Macau) Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

The resorts owned by the Las Vegas Sand Corporation are:

  • Sands Expo – Las Vegas, Nevada
  • The Venetian Las Vegas – Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Sands Macao – Macau Peninsula, Macau
  • Cotai Arena – Cotai Strip, Macau
  • The Venetian Macao – Cotai Strip, Macau
  • The Palazzo – Las Vegas, Nevada
  • The Plaza Macao – Cotai Strip, Macau
  • Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem – Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
  • Marina Bay Sands – Marina Bay, Singapore
  • Sands Cotai Central – Cotai Strip, Macau
  • The Parisian – Cotai Strip, Macau

While the Las Vegas Sands properties offer rewards programs, they’re not universal throughout the properties. A specific rewards program for the Venetian and Palazzo properties in Las Vegas exist called Grazie. The Bethlehem property has a rewards program called “My Sands” and the Macau properties have a rewards program called Sands Rewards.

2 – Wynn Resorts

Steve Wynn had been running the Golden Nugget Companies and the Mirage since 1973. In 2000, Wynn agreed to a merger with the MGM Grand, effectively ending his tenure with the company.

Upon leaving his position, he set his sights on purchasing the Desert Inn, a hotel and casino that had just celebrated its 50th anniversary and was the 5th resort ever to open on the Las Vegas Strip.

Over the years, the Desert Inn was the backdrop for many television shows and movies, including:

  • Ocean’s 11 (the original film)
  • Lost in America
  • Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
  • Rush Hour 2
  • Vega$
  • Dynasty
  • Remington Steele

After a week of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Desert Inn that ended on April 24, 2000, Steve Wynn bought the property on April 27th for $270 million. On August 28th, Wynn would close the Desert Inn permanently.

Much to the chagrin of Las Vegas residents and fans of “old Las Vegas” Wynn demolished the main section (known as the Augusta Tower) of the Desert Inn by implosion. The combination of the end of an era in the Las Vegas area and the fact that the building was imploded just 5 weeks after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, made Wynn quite unpopular for many years.

But the clearing out of the Desert Inn allowed Wynn to start building a new, state of the art resort. Originally slated to be named Le Rêve, the name was changed to Wynn Las Vegas before the project was finalized.

The last remnants of the Desert Inn were St. Andrews Tower and Palms Tower, which Wynn used as a temporary art gallery, were demolished in 2004.

Five years and 1 day after the initial purchase of the Desert Inn, the Wynn Las Vegas Resort opened.

Since the Wynn Las Vegas, Wynn has opened 4 other resorts and has 2 under construction as of the beginning of 2019. Of the resorts that are operating, 2 are in Las Vegas and 3 are in the Macao (Macau) Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. The 2 resorts under construction are located in Las Vegas and in Everett, a suburb 5 miles outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

The resorts owned by Wynn are:

  • Wynn Las Vegas
  • Encore Las Vegas
  • Wynn Macau
  • Encore at Wynn Macau
  • Wynn Palace
  • Encore Boston Harbor (anticipated opening: June 24, 2019)
  • Wynn West – (anticipated opening: 2020)

Wynn Resorts has 2 different Loyalty Programs. The Wynn Red Card program is for Wynn Resorts in the US and allows gamblers to accrue comp points for various perks such as hotel room upgrades and meals. The only way to accrue points is through gambling. The other loyalty program in the WynnInsider and can be used at any Wynn Resort in the US or Macau. This provides for discounted rooms when staying at a Wynn Resort.

3 – Galaxy Entertainment Group

While not well known in the United States, the Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) has become a big player in the Macau market.

Originally a construction company based out of Hong Kong, in February 2002, Galaxy received its first gaming concession (license) from the Macau Government. With the license in hand, Galaxy starts what would become a chain of casinos know as City Club.

The first City Club casino was opened in July 2004, the Casino Waldo. It was built by the Macau Ferry Terminal and is frequented by visitors from Hong Kong.

Following the success of Casino Waldo, the second City Club casino opened in February 2006 in the NAPE business district. It is called the Casino Rio.

The third City Club casino, the Casino President, would open 2 months later.

The fourth City Club Casino, the Casino Grand Waldo opened in May 2006 and was the first GEG casino in Cotai. It closed in 2014.

Casino

After Galaxy Entertainment Group launched on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it received enough investment to dive into the world of casino resorts.

The first such venture was the StarWorld Hotel. In addition to the casino, it offers over 500 luxury guestrooms and suites as well 10 restaurants and bars, live entertainment venues throughout the property, and numerous amenities.

Currently, GEG operated the following properties:

  • The Casino Waldo
  • The Casino President
  • The Casino Rio
  • The StarWorld Hotel Macau
  • Broadway Macau
  • The Galaxy Macau

Galaxy Entertainment Group announced in March 2017 a new venture. GEG and Monte-Carlo SBM announced the establishment of a strategic partnership to work together on the development of Integrated Resort projects in the Asia-Pacific region, including opportunities in Japan.

GEG offers a loyalty program called the GEG Privilege Club. Members can earn a variety of rewards and perks by earning points. Points are earned by gambling.

4 – Caesar’s Entertainment Corporation

Caesar’s Entertainment Corporation has been in existence is some iteration for almost 90 years. The company’s humble beginnings started in 1937 when founder Bill Harrah opened a bingo parlor in Reno Nevada.

In 1973, Harrah’s Inc., as it was then known, became the first casino company ever listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company when through many changed over the following 3 decades.

In 1980, a few years after Bill Harrah died, Holiday Inns bought Harrah’s Inc. In 1990, Holiday Inns wanted to spin off part of its company. When the split occurred, the company was renamed the Promus Companies and retained the Harrah’s properties as well as the Embassy Suites, the Homewood Suites, and the Hampton Inns. All of the Holiday Inns went to the other new company.

Promus decided in 1995, to split again. This time to get rid of all non-gaming properties. This resulted in the name change to Harrah’s Entertainment. After the spin-off, Harrah’s had 16 properties.

In 2005, Harrah’s had a massive expansion with the acquisition of Caesar’s Entertainment for $10.4 billion. Before the merger some of the properties that had to be sold to meet with Security and Exchange Commission requirements. When completed, the merger netted Harrah’s with 40 land based casinos and 4 cruise ship casinos.

TPG Capital and Apollo Global Management acquired Harrah’s Entertainment for 17.1 billion in 2008. In anticipation of going public again, the company was renamed in 2010 to Caesar’s Entertainment Group before the initial public offering of the company on the NASDAQ exchange in 2012.

Currently, Caesar’s Entertainment Group owns 4 major casino brands. They’re Harrah’s, Caesar’s, Bally’s, and Horseshoe.

The properties owned by Caesar’s Entertainment Group are:

2020
  • Alea Glasgow
  • Alea Nottingham
  • Bally’s Atlantic City
  • Bally’s Las Vegas
  • Caesars Atlantic City
  • Caesars Cairo
  • Caesars Palace
  • Caesars Windsor
  • Emerald Resort & Casino
  • Flamingo Las Vegas
  • Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino
  • Harrah’s Atlantic City
  • Harrah’s Cherokee
  • Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River
  • Harrah’s Council Bluffs
  • Harrah’s Gulf Coast
  • Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino
  • Harrah’s Joliet
  • Harrah’s Lake Tahoe
  • Harrah’s Las Vegas
  • Harrah’s Laughlin
  • Harrah’s Louisiana Downs
  • Harrah’s Metropolis
  • Harrah’s New Orleans
  • Harrah’s North Kansas City
  • Harrah’s Philadelphia
  • Harrah’s Reno
  • Harrah’s Resort Southern California
  • Harvey’s Lake Tahoe
  • Horseshoe Bossier City
  • Horseshoe Casino Baltimore (50% ownership with Jack Entertainment)
  • Horseshoe Casino Tunica
  • Horseshoe Council Bluffs
  • Horseshoe Hammond
  • Horseshoe Southern Indiana
  • Indiana Grand Racing & Casino
  • Manchester235
  • Paris Las Vegas
  • Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
  • Playboy Club London
  • Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino
  • The Casino at The Empire
  • The Cromwell Las Vegas
  • The Golden Nugget
  • The Linq
  • The London Club Cairo
  • The Rendezvous Casino Brighton
  • The Rendezvous Casino Southend
  • The Sportsman
  • Tunica Roadhouse Casino & Hotel

In addition to the casino properties, Caesar’s Entertainment Group owns the rights to the popular World Series of Poker. Harrah’s acquired the rights from the Binion Family in 2004. Since the purchase, the event has been held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino and has grown from a prize pool of $ 7,802,700 to the 2018 game where the pool was $74,015,600.

Caesar’s Entertainment Group has a loyalty program that was renamed from Total Rewards to Caesar’s Rewards in February 2019. The program can be used at most Caesar’s owned or managed resorts and provides comp points for gambling in the casinos. The program has 4 levels that most people can achieve, each based on how much the casino is used. The levels are: Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and 7-Stars. A 5th level was created for the former owner of the Oriental Trading Company Terry Watanabe called the Chairman’s level. This was created due to the massive amounts Watanabe gambled, including losses of nearly $190 million. So far, Watanabe is the only known member of this level of rewards.

5 – MGM Resorts International

Top 10 Casino Gaming Companies In The World 2019

MGM Resorts International’s roots date back to the late 1960s. The owner of International Leisure, a casino and airline company, bought Metro Goldwyn Mayer studios. His name was Kirk Kerkorian.

Kerkorian overextended himself in the purchase and wound up having to sell off the casino arm of International Leisure. The sale was made to Hilton Hotels and was sold for pennies on the dollar.

Top 10 Casino Gaming Companies In The WorldWorld

Over the next few years, one of the sold casinos, then known as the Las Vegas Hilton, became the most successful casino in Las Vegas.

This annoyed and motivated Kerkorian to get back into the Casino business.

In 1973, Kerkorian opened the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Five years later in 1978, he opened a 2nd resort, the MGM Grand Reno.

In 1980, the hotels were spun off from the rest of the company, which included the movie studio, and was renamed MGM Grand Hotels.

In 1986, Kerkorian sold the hotels to Bally’s Manufacturing, striking a deal that let him keep the MGM Grand name. The company, now just a shell was renamed twice in the next year. First, the name was changed to Grand Name Co., and then it was changed to MGM Grand, Inc.

Top 10 Casino Gaming Companies In The World List

In February 1988, the company purchased the Desert Inn and the Sands Casinos from Howard Hughes’s Summa Corporation. The next year, MGM would sell the Sands to Sheldon Adelson and his newly formed Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

In 1989 MGM acquired the Marina Hotel and Casino and the Tropicana Country Club. They promptly closed and started breaking ground on a $700 million casino and theme park that would become known as the MGM Grand Las Vegas and MGM Grand Adventures respectively.

Top 10 Casino Gaming Companies In The World 2020

Both the resort and theme park opened in December 1993. The $700 million cost had ballooned up to $1 billion by the time both were finished.

Through the next decade, the company grew at a rapid rate, expanding to Atlantic City, South Africa, and Australia.

Top 10 Casino Gaming Companies In The World Today

In April 2005, the MGM acquired Mandalay Resort Group for nearly $8 billion. At the time it made MGM the largest casino company in the world.

In 2010, the company went through another name change to its current iteration, MGM Resorts International. Part of the reason for the name change was that they wanted the name to reflect that they were hoteliers as well as a casino company as they were opening resorts without casinos.

After the name change, the company experienced more growth in international markets, reaching into Vietnam, Dubai, and Macau.

As of 2019, MGM owns the following properties:

  • Adventuredome
  • Aria Resort & Casino
  • Beau Rivage – Biloxi, Mississippi
  • Bellagio
  • Bellagio Shanghai – Shanghai
  • Borgata – Atlantic City, New Jersey
  • Circus Circus Las Vegas
  • CityCenter (50% joint venture with Dubai World)
  • Delano Las Vegas
  • Diaoyutai Boutique Hotel Chengdu – Chengdu
  • Diaoyutai Hotel Hangzhou – Hangzhou
  • Diaoyutai MGM Hospitality – China (a joint venture with Diaoyutai State Guesthouse)[199]
  • Excalibur
  • Gold Strike Casino Resort – Tunica Resorts, Mississippi
  • Luxor
  • Mandalay Bay
  • Mandalay Bay Convention Center
  • Mandalay Bay Events Center
  • MGM China – Macau, China (56% ownership stake)
  • MGM Cotai – Cotai
  • MGM Grand Atlantic City (planning stages)
  • MGM Grand Detroit – Detroit, Michigan (98% ownership stake)
  • MGM Grand Garden Arena
  • MGM Grand Las Vegas
  • MGM Grand Sanya – Sanya
  • MGM Macau – Sé
  • MGM National Harbor – National Harbor, Maryland
  • MGM Springfield – Springfield, Massachusetts
  • New York-New York
  • Park MGM
  • Skylofts at MGM Grand
  • Slots-A-Fun Casino
  • The Mansion at MGM Grand
  • The Mirage
  • The Signature at MGM Grand (50% joint venture with Turnberry Associates)
  • The Water Club
  • Vdara

MGM Resorts offers a reward program for their US-based resorts called M Life. The rewards program is integrated with spends in the casinos, the hotels, restaurants, shops, entertainment venues, and spas. Every time you spend in an affiliated portion of the resort, comp points are earned that have some of the following rewards (rewards are offered based on tiers, not all tiers may have these rewards):

  • Dedicated Reservation Lines
  • Personalized Offers
  • Annual Complimentary Cruise for Qualifying Members on Royal Caribbean or Celebrity Cruises
  • Invitations to Members-Only Events, Tournaments or Promotions
  • Exclusive Discounts on Hotel Rooms
  • Room Upgrades
  • Guaranteed Advance Hotel Reservations
  • Discounts at Participating Retail Shops
  • Dedicated Line at the Buffet
  • Dedicated Line at Participating Restaurants
  • Fine Dining Priority Reservations
  • Guaranteed Advance Restaurant Reservations
  • Pre-Sale Ticket Access to Select Events, Concerts, and Fights
  • Discounts to Select Shows Nationwide (subject to availability)
  • VIP Line Access to Select Nightclubs
  • Guaranteed Show Reservations
  • Rental Car Discount
  • Complimentary Self-Parking
  • Complimentary Valet Parking
  • Priority Access for Valet and Taxi Service
  • Complimentary Limousine Service to/from Nearest Airport with Hotel Stay

Conclusion

The business of casino resorts has morphed from a person owning 1 or 2 venues to massive, multi-national conglomerates that do business in the tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

It used to be that a casino would operate in one or 2 cities and limit themselves to the US. Now they’re not only in the US, but they’re in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, China and many more. And the growth shows no signs of stopping, with new markets such as Japan opening each year.

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