Following the Casino in Russia, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, wild capitalism introduced hitherto prohibited pleasures to the newly independent Russian capital. Casinos sprang up like mushrooms after a rainstorm, attracting wealthy and powerful people.
In Russia, gambling is legal in only four regional subject areas, and it was ruled prohibited in all other regions in 2009. Gambling was outlawed in practically all of Russia in 2009. Only four specially designated zones in the Altai, Krasnodar, Kaliningrad, and Primorsky regions are exempt.
A Brief History of Casino in Russia
The People’s Commissar of the Interior presented the RSFSR SPC with a report on gambling and the current gaming enterprise at the end of 1927. The report’s key point was that an idle, bourgeois leisure was incompatible with the true spirit of the working proletariat.
Despite the relatively low numbers in the gaming industry (just four tiny gaming houses operated in Leningrad at the time), the report’s principal restrictive clauses were adopted.
The Soviet government removed its gambling ban on August 23, 1989, and the first gambling house opened in Moscow, followed by the first casino in the Savoy Hotel in the capital city.
During the collapse of the Soviet Union, when people became interested in Western culture and ideals, poker became immensely popular in Russia.
Poker could only be played in cellar clubs or casinos in the Soviet Union. Furthermore, players frequently gathered in private flats. It was the first attempt to hold poker tournaments at the end of the 1990s, but it did not gain widespread popularity at the time.
Since the early twenty-first century, gambling has been a serious policy issue for the Russian government. The issue was the fast growing number of slot machines and gambling businesses, including casinos, that were springing up across the country.
The authorities were a little concerned about this. Moscow had 58 casinos, 2,000 gaming rooms, and nearly 70,000 slot machines after 2002, according to city officials.
Because the younger generation was widely exposed to obtrusive gambling house advertising, it became a major challenge for the government. Teenagers skipped school to swarm around slot machines in the hopes of winning cash.
The Best Casino in Russia
Now, let’s take a look at some of the best Casino in Russia that you can visit. They are really stunning and amazing at the same time!.
1. Metelitsa
This casino first opened its doors on New Arbat Street in June 1993 and soon established itself as the most famous gaming and entertainment venue in the Russian capital.
The Metelitsa club — and the Cherry Casino it hosted — lacked flair when it first opened, and only gradually gained it towards the end of the 1990s. At first, it appeared to be pretty bleak. It later became one of the city’s most flashy and magnificent locations.
The Metelitsa stage became a holy grail for aspiring and famous pop singers across Russia, as performing there often garnered them fame and money, as the Metelitsa’s attendees were largely well-connected people who spent their millions without hesitation.
Nonetheless, there have been a number of scandals throughout the casino’s history. The casino was raided by a special police squad one day in June 1994, and visitors afterwards claimed that the policemen fled the establishment with the cash they had confiscated after searching the guests.
When the renowned location closed, travelers flocked to its doors for one final photo opportunity in front of the casino that Russians of the 1990s admired the most.
2. Beverly Hills
A new casino opened in one of Moscow’s seven Stalin towers in August 1993. It was known as ‘The Firebird,’ but it closed down three years later, in 1996, to be replaced by a newly opened casino known as ‘Beverly Hills.’
The opening event was opulent, and the guest list was remarkable. The grand opening was attended by Donald Trump, Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones, and Hollywood star Chuck Norris, who reportedly has a 50% stake in the casino.
The Beverly Hills casino was remembered by its contemporaries as one of the most criminalized and dangerous gaming places in town.
“Chuck Norris’ Beverly Hills casino is supposed to be a rather thuggish location. Of course, this is correct. “I mean, I’m not sure if people who visit their favorite Texas Ranger’s establishment are thugs, but they seem just like most of the soulless oppressors of the Indians that Chuck Norris said in the face in every episode of his show,” a journalist wrote of the casino in 1998.
3. The Golden Palace
The Golden Palace casino, located near the Belorussky Railway Station, first opened its doors in 1994. This casino, like Metelitsa, drew pop artists and gamblers from all around the city. In 1996, one of them struck it rich and won $240,000, a world record in Moscow at the time.
Despite this, the Golden Palace’s past is littered with controversies. A hitman shot and killed David Khachatrov, the casino’s co-founder and owner, near his home in December 1996. Authorities found various breaches in the casino’s operations in 2006, and all activity was halted inside.
The Golden Palace reopened soon after, however it was permanently closed in June 2009, when gambling was outlawed throughout Russia, with the exception of a few specific zones.
In addition, its place signboard can still be seen in the region today. The casino, on the other hand, is no longer open. It has now been changed into a nightclub.
4. Shangri-La
Michael Boettcher, a British citizen, launched gambling enterprise Storm International in 1992 and later entered the expanding Russian gambling sector in the 1990s. Shangri-La, one of his casinos, launched in 1999. It was an exclusive establishment with a $200 per person entrance fee.
Only a select group of Russians could pay such a colossal admission charge. Leaders of Russia’s criminal underworld, on the other hand, could be able to.
Vyacheslav Kazarin, a member of one organized criminal group, once lost money playing against members of another organized criminal group. Unwilling to pay the loan, Kazarin called the victors to his apartment and murdered them.
The casino, which closed in the summer of 2009, has been replaced by cafes and a theater.
5. Jazz Town
This casino, like Shangri-La, was owned by Michael Boettcher’s Storm International, but it didn’t open until 2004. The casino wanted to be Moscow’s premier jazz venue, but it, along with all of Moscow’s other gaming establishments, closed in 2009.
6. Crystal Casino
The Crystal casino was the largest gaming destination in Eastern Europe when it opened in 1997.
“There are various types of players.” Professionals make up the first group… It is enough for such guys to win $200-300 per day. The second group consists of so-called ‘big players,’ who wager at least $10,000 every game.
The third group comprises cheaters, who are being pursued by the authorities, according to one of the casino’s dealers.
Shakro the Young, the infamous thief-in-law, was arrested in March 1999 after he gambled and allegedly used narcotics in a casino.
Authorities suspected the casino was run by the Georgian mafia, thus it was raided and temporarily closed in 2006, before being entirely shut down in 2009.
7. Empire
The Empire casino first opened its doors in 2001, and it was run by an American corporation. Men were charged a $50 entry fee while women were admitted for free.
The casino’s famous striptease acts, branded ‘Imperial Evenings,’ were the major attraction. It was essentially a striptease show with themes inspired by all of the great empires that have ever existed.
8. Cosmos Casino
The Cosmos casino was located on the first floor of the renowned Cosmos Hotel, which was located next to the VDNKh park. The casino was frequently the target of Russian law enforcement, whether for money laundering, offering a meeting place for crime bosses, or operating without a license.
9. Crown Casino
The Crown casino was also on New Arbat Street, which had already become a renowned gambling destination in Moscow thanks to the Metelitsa casino. In comparison to the capital’s most costly clubs, the Crown had a poker club and a gambling area, and was considered a more egalitarian location.
10. Metropol
Because it was housed in the historic Metropol Hotel, it was the closest casino to Red Square. The casino raffled over 20 kilograms of gold to its VIP visitors in 2006.
In conclusion, gambling in Russia is legal. Then, you can try to visit those Casino in Russia. Those places are also amazing and stunning for players.
Source: https://master16.club/