从酒店和博彩胜地每年数十亿计美元收入囊中的现象中，不难看出这一行业已成为经济界的弄潮儿 。游客在这些广阔的酒店和博彩胜地消磨掉大量的休闲时光，其中不乏地球上一些最奇特和美丽的地方。

　　拉斯维加斯超过半个世纪以来都是无可争议的全球博彩业之都。拉斯维加斯大道反映出美国快节奏的生活，高消费的文化，并催生了酒店和博彩胜地聚集的概念，以至于现在经常被称为“拉斯维加斯式”酒店博彩度假村.

　　但最近拉斯维加斯在国际博彩度假胜地中的霸主地位已受到巨大的威胁，从一个不太起眼的角落... ...

　　澳门是一个28平方公里的弹丸之地，但到2006年博彩收入已经超过了拉斯维加斯。若要浏览在澳门的酒店和博彩胜地，将会是有趣的---即使你不打算马上去做，查看一下澳门赌场列表是不会令你后悔的。

　　一般说来，亚洲作为一个整体，可以作出协调一致的努力推动兴建酒店和博彩胜地的开发，与世界其他地区竞争；但是不可否认，欧洲仍然是世界上一些最古老，最美丽的赌场的所在地。

　　加勒比是一个新兴的非常受欢迎的赌博目的地，现在可以发现在这一地区的大多数岛屿周围，都有酒店和博彩胜地的点缀其间。南非同样拥有一个蓬勃发展的博彩业，令人惊艳的太阳城博彩度假村是其中的代表。

　　译文：

　　Hotel and Casino Resorts

　　Hotel and casino resorts are riding the crest of a wave that sees them raking in billions of dollars every years. And tourists are lapping up the all-inclusive ease of a holiday at one these sprawling hotel and casino complexes set in some of the most exotic and beautiful places on earth.

　　For well over half a century, Las Vegas was the undisputed global gambling capital. The Las Vegas Strip mirrors America's fast-living, high spending culture and spawned the concept of the hotel and casino resort complex, so much so that these are now frequently termed "Las Vegas-style hotel-casinos'.

　　But recently Las Vegas's dominance of the international casino resort scene has come under huge threat, from a very unlikely source...

　　Macau is a tiny 28-km squared peninsula of Mainland China, but by 2006 it had surpassed the Las Vegas Strip in gambling revenues. To browse hotels and casino resorts in Macau, which is fun even if you're not going anytime soon, check the Macau casino listings.

　　In general the whole of Asia could make a concerted push to build hotel and casino resorts to compete with the rest of the world, while Europe is still home to some of the oldest, most beautiful casinos in the world.

　　The Caribbean is a hugely popular gambling destination, and hotel and casino resorts can now be found dotted around most of the islands in this region.

　　South Africa also boasts a thriving casino industry, led by the phenomenal Sun City resort.