Casinos in Uruguay
Casinos in Australia are very popular with tourists, not so much with locals. Even so the small South American country has a quite a number of gaming halls for its size, the small beachside resort of Punta del Este having three all to itself. Uruguay has 15 cities, and a total of 18 casinos spread out through the various regions.
The casinos in Uruguay are not on the same level when it comes to size and choice as some of its North American neighbours, but they are high class and strive to offer the same feel as the bigger venues in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. All of the casinos in Uruguay are in resorts due to their popularity with tourists and are overseen and licensed by the state. All forms of gambling is legal in Uruguay, although horse racing is controlled by the state and only happens on the two state owned tracks in the country. The Lottery is the most popular form of gambling for the locals and is also controlled by the state. Online gambling and casinos have yet to be added to state legislature, and thus have no regulations or policing at all.
Conrad Casino
The Conrad Casino is the largest casino in Uruguay and is located in the beach resort town of Punta del Este. It is a very grand Hilton owned hotel with five stars and over 200 rooms. It dominates the skyline in Punta del Este and is known as the place to be. The entire complex is done in Vegas style, from the flashing casino to the concierge service offered to hotel guests. The casino at The Conrad is managed by Caesars Entertainment, an international company that owns and manages many casinos around the world including some of the biggest and best in Las Vegas.
Players on the casino floor can take advantage of the cocktail waitresses who serve free drinks. The casino at The Conrad is not a place to find penny slots. The lowest table game wager is $15 to $500, and that’s not even in the high limits sections. There are 74 table games on offer offering a selection of Roulette, Blackjack, Craps, Baccarat and Poker. The 640 slots are mostly modern 3D types with a few progressives thrown in to keep things interesting. The rest of the resort offers five restaurants and bars, with a range of experiences from fine dining to a tea room. The onsite Spa is huge and has its own swimming pool and Jacuzzis.
Nogaro Casino
Nogaro is another casino in Punta del Este, but much smaller and more intimate then the Conrad. It features 278 gaming machines and only ten table games offering French Roulette, Blackjack and Punto Banco. This small casino caters for a very different crowd to the Conrad. The casino is not busy, although it is friendly and professional. Free drinks are also offered to all players
Hotel Carrasco
The Hotel Casino Carrasco is a historic hotel and casino in Carrasco, Montevideo. It was started in 1912, and finished in 1921. The original building stayed open until the late 1990’s when it had to close due to deterioration. Luckily it was bought in 2009, renovated and reopened in 2013. Today the hotel has 116 luxury rooms and a large casino with 400 gaming machines and twenty three table games. Two kinds of games are on offer at the tables, Roulette and Punto Banco. Wagers range from 50 cents up to $100 making it a nice mid range casino for all budgets.
