Now, you’re welcome in the world’s largest casinos even if you’re not really of blue blood. Il Ridotto was an exclusive place, reserved for the noble, while in our times, gambling has reached the masses. Some of them still blend Renaissance patterns with a modern view, but we can see clearly that casinos and gambling in general have been utterly transformed since then. Today, casinos are built in a different style, but they still share the magnificence of this original model.

In 1683, a wing of the Dandolo Palace in Venice was turned into a casino, becoming the first casino in the West. Il Ridotto marks the birth of legal, government-sanctioned gambling in Europe. We’ve selected 7 of the most imposing gambling houses that are still operational today. The world’s largest casinos leave you breathless with their architectural design and dimensions.