Spain Soon to be Home of Europe's Largest Casino

Gambling is a popular past-time in Spain, and the Spanish lottery market is one of the largest in the world. In fact, it is home to the world's largest Christmas draw, known as El Gordo, which amounts to 2.2 billion Euros. Nearly every bar has slot machines, and there are numerous mini-casinos all over the place. In other words, Spain is a gambler's paradise. However, with the construction of an up-and-coming new casino resort on the horizon, things are about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Spain has just announced that they are building what will be Europe's largest casino resort in the city of Zaragoza, the fifth largest Spanish metropolitan area, located about 200 miles from the capital of Madrid.

Tentatively, the casino resort is being called "Gran Escala", which in English translates to "Grand Scale." The resort will cover approximately 5,000 acres, and will include 32 hotels, a stadium, five theme parks, a conference center, and a bullring.

Development of the resort in the Los Mongeros desert region is expected to attract nearly 25 million visitors per year, and will be open for business by the end of 2008.

A spokesman for Aristocrat Technologies, an Australian gaming company involved in the project, said, "This is going to be a new version of Las Vegas in Europe. It’s going to bring lots of jobs. Disneyland Paris will be tiny in comparison."

Spain's "Gran Escala" is expected to rival the likes of Las Vegas for its opportunities to gamble and be entertained. Those in Europe who wish to have a Vegas-style experience will soon be able to stick closer to home, and head to Spain instead of the States. Gamblers and tourists around the world are likely to be just as attracted to the new destination.

Just a few years ago, it was estimated that gambling by Spaniards was in the range of 22.68 billion. Spain's gambling market is expected to grow to 39 billion Euros by 2010.