Landlocked Kazakhstan has been left a mystery to the western traveler for several hundred years, unknown from the pages of Marco Polo or Kipling. Few outsiders have experienced the charms of this central Asian country, besides the sellers who plied the Silk Road. Yet, considering that Kazakhstan achieved its independence in 1991 and especially under the astute and noble presidency of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country has flourished. As the nation flourishes, so do Kazakhstan casinos. Flushed with oil cash, it’s boom time in the gaming businesses of this prior soviet republic. There are 7 cities that have amid them legal casino accommodations of which there are actually 28 such hangouts. Indeed if you are hungry for a game, the tables are the only game in town, as Kazakhstan casinos are the only gaming operations authorized there.
Most notable to the constant casino player should be the prior capital and greatest city in the region, Almaty, that evident Las Vegas of central Asia, boasting not less than eighteen casinos and counting. With a climbing 9 per cent upsurge per annum, the Kazakh economy has enhanced enormously in the last ten years and with it the Kazakh demand for the betting tables. The cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic, multinational city of Almaty is hidden from its previous status as the chief city of a grey Soviet satellite state. New wealth has brought enchantment as well as excitement to the place, a fact best embodied by the city’s biggest casino, Casino Viva. One of a chain, this extravagant Kazakhstan casino hotel can claim 26 games tables and 93 slot machines.
What’s more, the fad for web-based poker has not gone unseen in Kazakhstan casinos with the modernization of video poker swiftly becoming a top choice. Outside of Almaty, the adventurous gamer is also served; as a reference, the capital Astana has 5 casinos, the premium one among them being one of the Casino Zodiak chain that boasts definitely no less than twenty card tables. If that is not actually enough for gamblers, casinos are also located further afield in the cities of Aktobe, Kokshetau, Pavlodar, Shimkent, also Ust-kamenogorsk. It is apparent, anyway, that the Kazakh fondness for the green baize and clink of chips is not stated, due to the fact that the vice-foreign minister lately went to Macao and also Hong Kong. The visit was certified to be a "short but fruitful" trip designed to study the gaming industries of these towns and empower interest in Kazakhstan’s nascent casino business. Indeed, a potential direct air link has been publicized between Almaty and Hong Kong or Macao, which may boost interest for this once beautiful spot soon set to become the desire of the cream of society.