Once upon a time, all you'd find at casinos were slot machines and table games. But times have changed. These days, casinos across the country and around the world also have comfortable accommodations, rejuvenating spas, gourmet restaurants, luxe shopping and dazzling shows -- all the makings of a successful meeting, with the added bonus of built-in entertainment on the casino floor. It's no surprise, then, that gaming venues continue to gain in popularity with meeting groups. And with a new generation of venues arriving on the scene, gaming meetings are poised to grow bigger than ever.
Following are five new and improved destinations that are worth betting on:
Resorts World Catskills (Monticello, N.Y.)
The Catskill Mountains look nothing like the Las Vegas Strip. The latter is filled with neon and surrounded by desert; the former, filled with forests and surrounded by wilderness. If Sin City and the Catskills have one thing in common, however, it's world-class gaming. In the Catskills, that's thanks to Resorts World Catskills, which opened in February in Monticello, N.Y., less than 100 miles north of New York City. Along with 2,150 slot machines and more than 150 live table games, the casino resort includes 10 bars and restaurants, a 332 all-suite hotel, a spa, two fitness centers, and a 2,500-seat event center -- the 27,000-square-foot Epicenter, which can host a sit-down dinner for 1,300, a trade show for thousands, a wedding for 300 or a group as small as 20 in one of its skybox meeting rooms.
"For generations, this vacation destination with a celebrated past has lured visitors to explore all our unique countryside has to offer. Hiking trails, biking trails, antiquing, fly-fishing and golf all nestled among bucolic streams and lakes," reports Resorts World Catskills Executive Vice President Charles Degliomini, who says visitors to the resort will soon be able to enjoy three more amenities: the Entertainment Village, opening later this year with 105 new hotel rooms; the Kartrite, an indoor family water park hotel opening in early 2019; and the property's renovated 18-hole golf course, The Monster. "Our property, which is New York's newest and closet casino, celebrates the natural environment, with large gaming floor panoramic windows and copious outdoor verandas and outdoor spaces."
That's something groups simply can't find in Las Vegas. "All of the above, coupled with our exciting Las Vegas-style gaming experience, make Resorts World Catskills an unparalleled choice for any large or small event," Degliomini says.
Mohegan Sun (Uncasville, Conn.)
If Resorts World Catskills is the new kid on the block in the New York Tri-State Area, Connecticut's Mohegan Sun is the veteran. But even old dogs have new tricks. At Mohegan Sun, those tricks include a new hotel and a new conference center to complement its original facilities. The former, the Earth Tower, opened in November 2016 with 400 guest rooms, a restaurant, a spa, a fitness center and pool, and an expansive outdoor patio with fire pits. The latter, Earth Expo & Convention Center, opened in May with 155,200 square feet of flexible meeting and event space, bringing Mohegan Sun's total meeting space to more than 275,000 square feet -- making it the largest meeting venue along the New York-Boston I-95 corridor. Oh, and there's also three separate casinos -- Casino of the Earth, Casino of the Sky and Casino of the Wind -- that collectively offer nearly 5,000 slot machines and more than 300 table games.
Baha Mar (Nassau, the Bahamas)
Like most destinations in the Caribbean, the Bahamas is beloved for its warm weather, beautiful beaches and hospitable culture. It's also notable for its choice gaming, which has reached new heights thanks to Baha Mar, a megaresort on the island of Nassau that began its phased opening in 2017 and recently completed it in June 2018. Along with a 100,000-square-foot casino that has 1,100 slots and 119 live table games -- more than any other casino in the Caribbean -- the resort includes three distinct hotels: the 237-room Rosewood Baha Mar, the 300-room SLS Baha Mar and the 1,800-room Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. All of them have access to an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, a 30,000-square-foot destination spa and a convention center -- the 200,000-square-foot Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center, which includes three nautical-inspired ballrooms, 16 breakout rooms, and a 2,000-seat entertainment venue.
ESports Arena Las Vegas at The Luxor (Las Vegas)
As the gaming capital of the world, Las Vegas has no shortage of spectacular casino resorts at which meeting groups can convene. Its newest venue, however, is neither a casino nor a resort. Rather, it's an eSports arena -- a multi-level arena dedicated to multiplayer video game competitions.
It's a different kind of gaming entirely. Instead of slots and table games -- both of which are available outside the arena at Luxor Hotel & Casino, where the arena is housed -- the 30,000-square-foot Esports Arena Las Vegas features a competition stage, a 50-foot LED video wall, telescopic seating, PC and console gaming stations, and a network TV-quality production studio. Visitors can either watch competitions or, for a fee, compete in them. If they play and win, the latter can even win substantial cash prizes. For meetings and events, the arena has six private VIP rooms that are perfect for small groups. Or, groups can reserve the entire arena for a private event or tournament.
Ocean Resort Casino (Atlantic City, N.J.)
Atlantic City has been a top gaming destination since 1976, when New Jersey voters gave their blessing to legalize casino gambling there. Although the city has fallen on hard times in recent years, it's poised for a big comeback thanks to new hotels that are opening inside old ones.
One of those hotels is Ocean Resort Casino, which opened this week inside what was previously Revel -- the $2.4 billion casino resort that closed in 2014 after filing for bankruptcy. Having undergone a six-month renovation, the revitalized and reborn property offers 1,399 guest rooms, a 138,000-square-foot casino, 16 restaurants, a nightclub and beach club, a 5,500-seat entertainment venue, a retail village, a 32,000-square-foot spa and six swimming pools, not to mention 160,000 square feet of meeting space and 90,000 square feet of outdoor event space. The resort -- which occupies the tallest building in Atlantic City and the second tallest in New Jersey -- promises to take gaming meetings to new heights. Literally.