If you thought the world's biggest and best casinos were coming out of Las Vegas, think again. Billion dollar casino projects are appearing all over the world, and Asia and Australia are leading the way.

Crown Casino's new project in Sydney, Australia, will be one of the region's biggest VIP casinos when it opens.

But in Asia there is plenty for gamblers in Macau, Vietnam and Korea to look forward to.

HOIANA
Hoi An, Vietnam

Vietnam currently has seven licensed casinos across the country. While travellers flock to the Ho Tram Casino Resoirt and Phoenix International Club, there is seemingly room for more.

The first phase of Suncity's HOIANA project is due to be completed later this year. The whole project consists of seven separate phases, however, and will take a staggering 13 years to complete*. 

The casino itself will feature 1,000 slot machines to kick off with, with space for 1,000 more if the development proceeds without any hitches.

Grand Lisboa Palace
Cotai, Macau

Why settle for just one Grand Lisboa when you can build two? The Cotai Strip in Macau obviously needs another addition from the Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM Holdings) group, and it will get it when the new casino opens later this year.

Construction is nearly finished on what will end up being a $4.6bn project that includes 2,000 hotel rooms, a casino, and a shopping mall.

The new Grand Lisboa Palace will feature 300-500 new gaming tables, a nice addition to SJM's group of 20 Macau casinos.

Caesars Korea
Incheon, South Korea
South Korea has been busy playing catch-up and trying to emulate the success of Macau and Manila in developing world-beating casino resorts.

The $1.4bn Paradise City in Incheon opened its doors in 2017, and now developers are keen to expand the resort. Paradise City is the only Korean casino that lets locals come through the doors, so another Paradise City expansion would be welcomed.

But Caesars Entertainment are jumping on the Korean bandwagon with their own casino, due to open in 2021. It would be South Korea's first casino from an internationally-recognised brand.

Astral
Las Vegas, USA

It's been a while since the iconic Vegas Strip got itself a new casino-resort. But that could change if developer Asher Gabay gets his way.

Gabay wants to transform a run-down motel, Motel 8, at the south end of the Strip, into Sin City's latest big casino and hotel.

Estimating a budget of $325-350 million, the project - dubbed Astral - would feature a 620-room, 5-star hotel, and casino.

Motel 8 dates back to the 1960s and is crying out for development. If built, Astral would be the first casino to be built at that end of the Strip since 1998.

*https://www.macaubusiness.com/macau-suncity-completes-purchase-of-stake-in-vietnam-casino-resort/