NEW YORK, NY.- When you think of great public architecture the first kinds of buildings that spring to mind are probably art galleries like the Guggenheim in Bilbao, office blocks like London’s Shard or even airports like Wellington, New Zealand. In these, the architects have beautifully combined form and function to create buildings that confound traditional expectations while also being effective “machines” for enjoyment work or travel, to paraphrase Le Corbusier’s famous definition of what a good house should be.

Of course, just as much care goes into carefully planning the interiors as it does in making them visually arresting from the outside.

So while the traditional view of a casino interior as row upon row of slot machines, bright lighting and a complete lack of both windows on the outside world and clocks in order to help players lose track of time may be true of many examples in the world it is by no means universal.

There are a number of casinos all round the world that are notable for the bold, and sometimes iconoclastic, visions of both their architects and interior designers that have helped to make them quite unique in their own particular ways.

Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Perhaps the most famous of all of the mega-casinos in Las Vegas, Caesars Palace first opened in 1966, the brainchild of the designer Jay Sarno who wanted to capture the decadence and luxury of Ancient Rome, albeit seen through the lens of Hollywood blockbusters like Ben Hur.

When it opened the famed writer on architecture Alan Hess commented, “Caesars Palace needed only a sumptuous array of classical statuary and a host of marble-white columns to establish its theme. The visitor's imagination, in league with well-placed publicity, filled in the opulence".

To this day it remains a true homage to the Graeco-Roman times, albeit with numerous contemporary additions as well as no less than 18 fountains which are estimated to use well over 1 billion litres of water a year.

Lac Du Der Casino, Giffaumont
This casino, in Western France could not be more different from the brash and bold edifices of Las Vegas. In fact, if one didn’t know that the building housed a casino one could be forgiven for thinking that it’s an academic institution or even a storage facility.

Built to house a number of attractions and encourage tourism in the area, the stated aim of the designers, Data Architectes, was to create a building that is “aesthetically simple and sober. A presence without showing off”.

It consists of two separate rectangular blocks, one of which houses all of the operational equipment for the build and the other contains all the public attractions. Flying in the face of conventional casino design, the public areas are flooded with natural light although the windows are disguised on the outside through the use of Douglas fir cladding to connect with the building’s natural surroundings.

Casino de Monte Carlo, Monaco
For lovers of classical architecture, and particularly of the Belle Époque style, then there’s no other casino in the world that can rival the famous Casino de Monte Carlo. Originally opened in 1856 as a way of raising much needed revenue after the Principality’s split with France, the current casino has stood on its site since 1863. Designed by the Parisian architect Gobineau de la Bretonnerie and expanded in 1879 by Charles Garnier, designer of the Paris Opera House, the façade remains the same today providing a grand entrance to all but the local Monagasques who are forbidden to enter the casino.

As well as offering magnificent interiors to savour, the casino also hosts frequent art exhibitions, one the most recent being by the artist Charles Kaisin whose show reflected the opulence of the surroundings in the title “Let’s Fall In Diamonds”.

The Hippodrome, London
To bring casino design right up to date one only has to look at London’s Hippodrome which is in the heart of the city’s West End between Charing Cross Road and Leicester Square.

Following a £50 million refurbishment of this Grade II Listed building in 2014 the owners commissioned a digital artist in residence to create an artwork for the interior. The artist in question, Thomas D Gray, created a 57 screen video installation, which takes the form of a montage of many different images including London street scenes, roulette wheels spinning and characters from the history of the area.

The designers of The Hippodrome, along with countless other casinos, have recognised the importance of visual excitement and how it can be used to attract players. Therefore, it is not a huge surprise that online casinos have gone down the same route, the croupiers are placed in a genuine casino setting, this, accompanied with the special offers like free spins, is a great way to attract new players.

The Venetian, Macau
We began this round-up with the awe-inspiring Caesars Palace and we’ll end it with the even more awe-inspiring Venetian in Macau. In designing it, the architects Aedas and HKS Inc. had the brief of recreating the home of the Venice Biennale in the Far East.

So, if you ever visit, while you may not be able to find original frescoes by Tiepolo and Carpaccio you will be able to glide round the man-made canals by gondola and try your luck in the world’s largest casino covering no less than 50,700 square metres, not to mention staying the largest single structure hotel building in Asia. You can practice your favorite casino games before visiting these incredible casinos. Get reviews for playing casino games online at OnlineCasinoBlueBook. They have some great resources for choosing a perfect casino.

So there you have them – five of the most remarkable casinos in the world, each one special in its own particular way. The fact that some world-famous architects have been recruited to design them and notable artists to decorate them suggests that casino design may be a fast-emerging field. And, as online casinos are said to the stealing a great deal of custom from their bricks and mortar rivals, it couldn’t come at any better time for the latter.