[ English ]

Landlocked Kazakhstan has prolonged to be a mystery to the western traveler for centuries, unknown from the pages of Marco Polo or Kipling. Several outsiders have experienced the attraction of this central Asian country, other than the merchants who plied the Silk Road. However, considering that Kazakhstan obtained its independence in 1991 and specially under the ingenious and unselfish presidency of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country has developed. As the nation develops, so do Kazakhstan casinos. Flushed with oil revenue, it’s boom time in the gambling corporations of this prior soviet republic. There are 7 cities that have amidst them legal casino facilities of which there are exactly twenty eight such venues. Indeed if you are craving for a game, the tables are the only game in town, as Kazakhstan casinos are the only gambling operations authorized there.

Most acclaimed to the devoted contender will have to be the passed capital as well as the exorbitant city in the area, Almaty, that realistic Las Vegas of central Asia, exhibiting not less than 18 casinos and counting. With a climbing nine per cent increase yearly, the Kazakh economy has developed hugely in the last 10 years and with it the Kazakh desire for the gaming tables. The cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic, multinational city of Almaty is invisible from its last duration as the principal city of a grey Soviet satellite state. New wealth has brought style and anticipation to the place, a fact best embodied by the city’s biggest casino, Casino Viva. One of a chain, this fabulous Kazakhstan casino hotel can display twenty-six games tables and ninety-three coin-operated machines.

What’s more, the craze for on-line poker has not gone unseen in Kazakhstan casinos with the introduction of video poker quickly becoming a preferred choice. Outside of Almaty, the fearless gamer is also served; as a reference, the capital Astana has 5 casinos, the ace one in the midst of them being one of the Casino Zodiak chain that delights in not less than 20 card tables. If that is in no way enough for gamblers, casinos are in fact located further afield in the cities of Aktobe, Kokshetau, Pavlodar, Shimkent, and also Ust-kamenogorsk. It is clear, anyway, that the Kazakh dedication for the green baize and clink of chips is not stated, seeing as the vice-foreign minister not long ago went to Macao as well as Hong Kong. The visit was announced to be a "short but fruitful" trip devised to study the games industries of these towns and empower preference in Kazakhstan’s nascent casino industry. Indeed, a plausible direct air link has been publicized between Almaty and Hong Kong or Macao, which could bolster appetite for this once captivating destination soon set to become the choice of the elite.