Casinos in Riga

Published on: 03/11/2013

Riga is the capital of Latvia, and with a population of over a million, it is by far the largest city throughout the Baltic States. More than a third of the country’s people reside in this vibrant city. Riga has always been an important to the country – as a commercial, financial and cultural location it is vital to Latvia. For more than 800 years, since its founding in 1201, its nature as a port has been a exploited, fuelling the economy and allowing the city to grow. An unexpected source of income for the city over recent years has been through tourism, which has been growing rapidly. From 2010 through 2011 the industry increased in value by a staggering 22%. If these trends continue Latvia may soon be rivalling its neighbours of Denmark and Finland as holiday destinations.

The modernization of Riga, along with the building of new hotels and other facilities, has seen a change in people’s attitudes and expectations for what the city should offer them. Like in other parts of the world, especially the east (china and Pakistan for example) there is a growing middle class in the area – with this change of class structure comes a change in goods and services desired; and one of these things is casinos.

With the dawning of the new millennium gambling has suddenly become very fashionable in Riga. This doesn’t mean little gaming rooms in the back of café’s, or bingo rooms in the town hall. The desire is for large and glamorous casinos, in the style of those in Hollywood films. Perhaps the prime example of this desire realized is the 3,701-square-foot Olympic Casino named “Domina.” The name comes from its location, within the Domina Shopping Centre on Ieriķu Street, right in the heart of the city. The casino features more than fifty gaming machines, and its doors are open 24 hours a day. The decoration has been meticulously attended to, being designed in a modern, gregarious style. All the fashionable games are on offer: roulette, poker, blackjack… almost anything you could wish for. The bar is well known as one of the most fashionable chic drinking spots in the while city.

The Domina is owned by the Olympic Entertainment Group, a successful, diverse company founded in the Republic of Estonia. The “Olympic City Casino” has other gaming centres located throughout the city. Perhaps the most impressive of these goes by the slightly macabre name of the Olympic Voodoo Casino. It has a staggering 24,500 square feet of floor space, allowing it to hold 19 slot machines, and a huge amount of tables for almost every game you could ever wish to play: Blackjack American Roulette, Open Poker, Oasis Poker, Texas Hold’em Poker, Draw Poker, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em Poker. If you like card games, especially poker, this is certainly the casino for you! The venue is actually part of Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija. For such an impressive casino, the hotel is commensurately grand, having 540-rooms, and enjoying splendid views out onto the Esplanāde, part of the Central District.

Another gaming company operating in Riga is Post Nevada. Formed in the early 90’s, it has many casinos in the city, most of them bearing the brand name “Labirints Slots.” There are seven bearing this particular name in Riga. Casino 777 have two casinos in the city, both open 24 hours a day, and notable for their excellent bars, specializing in fine single malt whiskies, along with cigars. Riga is certainly a destination to visit if you are lover of gambling – there are more new casinos here than perhaps in any other city.

Published on: 03/11/2013 © Bet Bind