Fictional casinos: Star Wars casino most valuable and highest-earning

Ocean’s 14 is set to be officially announced with stars such as Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon lined up to return to the film franchise based around the glamorous world of casinos and the dashing criminal masterminds who plan to break into them.

But where does this series rank across film, TV and video games when it comes to the grandest casinos in all of fiction? OLBG put their knowledge of casino sites to use to pull together a list of 15 greatest casinos ever committed to screen, big or small.

Star Wars may be set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away – and out of the reach of Danny Ocean and his all-star crew – but it turns out that the famous sci-fi film saga is also home to the biggest casino in all of fiction.

The Outlander Club from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones stands out as the most valuable and highest-earning casino in all of fiction according to OLBG’s research and it is one of three casinos from the Star Wars franchise to make the top 15.

Less fantastical entries include The Tangiers from the Robert De Niro mafia classic Casino and The Palace Casino from Ocean’s Thirteen, and The Casino Royale from Daniel Craig’s first entry in the James Bond canon, Casino Royale.

Below is a full rundown of every entry to make it onto the list.

15. Wong Hotel and Casino

The Wong Hotel and Casino is one of the largest and most extravagant casinos in Mars Vegas, the successor to the plain old Las Vegas of Earth in Futurama, Matt Groening’s successor show to The Simpsons.

Despite the advanced technology and diverse array of visitors that you’d expect from its sci-fi setting, the Wong Hotel and Casino’s revenue would be moderate compared to larger, more established casinos on the Martian strip — and well below the money-making abilities of other casinos on this list!

14. Anubis Casino

The Anubis Casino is where the titular gods of the American Gods setting go to gamble, and is only accessible to them and their kind through the House of the Rock – a real-life landmark in Wisconsin, USA that boasts a number of attractions including the world’s largest merry-go-round.

It is, as you’d expect from such a place, a rather fantastical and surreal example of a casino where beings gamble with more than just money. That would explain the relatively small annual footfall of visitors (it’s a very select clientele, after all) and the low value and revenue. It’s hard to price up wagers that are based on things other than money.

13. Fortune City Casino

Fortune City Casino is a location in the setting of zombie survival video game Dead Rising 2 and as such its best days are behind it once the stumbling hordes of undead have replaced its usual mix of patrons by the time that player is let loose to explore it.

In the game, Fortune City (and its casino) is actually an entertainment hub that was built around 1992 to replace Las Vegas, which in this universe was destroyed by a nuclear bomb that saw off a previous zombie outbreak three years prior.

That’s probably why this fictional successor to Vegas lacks the real world pulling power of the city and its famous strip even before the apocalyptic situation the game drops players into. Wouldn’t you rather stay at home and check out some casino sites instead of getting caught up in all of that faff?

12. The Emerald City Casino

While it’s only briefly seen as one of the attractions of the Emerald City in Oz: The Great and Powerful, the Emerald City Casino would be a luxurious, green-lit establishment catering to the city’s elite.

Not a casino for the masses, it wouldn’t bring in the biggest revenues but given its location, within the exclusive postcodes of the Emerald City, it is the first fictional casino in this list to break the $1 billion mark for value.

11. The Casino Royale

Now for a bit more realism. There are few characters in any form of fiction with a greater association to casinos and gambling than Bond; James Bond.

Casino Royale was Daniel Craig’s first film as the world’s most famous secret agent with 007 attending a high stakes poker game at, you guessed it, The Casino Royale — located in Montenegro in the film.

The Casino Royale is not a casino open to all, of course. It is a more intimate and exclusive setting compared to Las Vegas or even Monte Carlo, with private gaming rooms catering to a very specific class of customer.

10. 3 Count Casino

Even if you haven’t heard about Saints Row, you’ve probably come across the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise.

Saints Row started out as a competitor to “GTA” before taking on its own wild character that ended up putting players in a bizarre scenario come the start of Saints Row IV whereby aliens arrive and blow up the planet before capturing you and your gang in a simulation of your old city. Did we mention that you’re also the president of the USA? It’s… a lot.

The 3 Count Casino is a bit more down to earth, serving the population of Steelport (simulated or otherwise) with a healthy number of punters estimated to flow through its doors every year.

9. Spiders From Mars

We return to Mars, or at least the planet’s orbit, for the floating casino from the anime Cowboy Bebop.

An attraction in and of itself, drifting in space, Spider From Mars would attract visitors from all over to enjoy the view and its various facilities, although given its location there is an understandable limitation on how much room punters have to move around.

8. Le Grand Casino de Monte Carlo

Based on the real life institution that is the Monte Carlo Casino, this reinterpretation of that famous gambling establishment for the animated film Cars 2 serves punters with four wheels instead of customers in a human form.

However, Le Grand Casino de Monte Carlo still offers the same elegance and high stakes that real world visitors would expect to the anthropomorphic cars that frequent its tables in the film.

7. The Lucky 38 Casino

Another casino operating in a post-apocalyptic setting, this time the aftermath of a global nuclear war, The Lucky 38 is a key location in the game Fallout: New Vegas.

Owned by the mysterious Mr. House, the casino sits at the heart of New Vegas, built in the middle of Mojave Wasteland. In the game, its doors are closed to the public until the player is able to make progress in the main quest, but it's an establishment full of wealth, advanced technology, a staff of robots and a significant arsenal to scare away threats.

Before the war, it was a high-end casino for the super rich with substantial revenue from limited, high stakes games played by a very exclusive clientele.

6. The Bank Casino

The fictional casino targeted by George Clooney (Danny Ocean) and his associates in the 2007 movie sequel Ocean’s 13, The Bank is located on the Las Vegas Strip.

However, the gang’s main goal isn’t to rob the casino but to prevent its owner, Willy Bank, from winning the prestigious Five Diamond Award, which all of his previous hotels have won. There’s still money in play too of course with Ocean’s team also planning to rig all of the games to pay out millions in winnings on their opening night.

It is depicted as a state-of-the-art attraction, and one of the most opulent properties in Las Vegas in the film, serving the masses a taste of the high life. Much like in the film, The Bank just misses out on the top five.

5. The Tangiers

It may be fictional but The Tangiers, the casino from the movie Casino, was based on the real life establishments that made up the early years of Las Vegas and its initial boom period.

Taking inspiration from casinos such as the Stardust Resort and Casino, The Tangiers was created to represent the glamour of the 1970s and 1980s in Las Vegas along with the dark underbelly behind the scenes.

Although fictional, The Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas is based on real-life establishments like the Stardust. It's a massive casino that represents the height of opulence and the dark underbelly of mob-controlled Las Vegas in the 1970s and 1980s.

It is the first casino in this list to top $1 billion in estimated annual revenue.

4. The Death Star Casino

Did you know that in Star Wars, about 2 million people were living on the Death Star at the time it was blown up by the heroes in Star Wars: A New Hope?

Han Solo might have believed it was too big to be a space station, and in many ways he was right. The Death Star was a city in space, albeit one that had a massive planet-killing laser cannon on the front of it, and that meant that it had all sorts of amenities to keep its population going and entertained, including a casino.

Books and spin-offs written around the Star Wars films revealed that the Empire’s ultimate super weapon also housed a casino, although it wouldn’t have been the biggest establishment on this list given the limited room available on a space station, no matter the size of the Death Star.

Given how many of the Empire’s top brass were living on the station though, it wouldn’t have needed too much space or too many customers to be worth a pretty penny.

3. Canto Bight

Canto Bight is actually a casino city on the planet of Cantonica so in fairness to the other casinos featured in this list only the one casino shown in Star Wars: The Last Jedi is being counted here.

It is a playground for the wealthy and the powerful from across the Star Wars galaxy, with dark deals taking place away from the games and tables on offer to punters.

2. The Gold Saucer

The Gold Saucer is a gigantic entertainment complex from the game Final Fantasy VII and home to not just a casino but a theme park too with many other attractions to pull in visitors from across the setting of its world.

However, again, for the sake of fairness, only the casino within The Gold Saucer is being assessed for the purposes of this list, and it is after all one of the most memorable fictional casinos in the history of gaming.

1. The Outlander Club

We return, yet again, to the Star Wars universe, specifically the The Outland Club casino from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

The main casino establishment on Coruscant, the capital city for the entire galaxy in the Star Wars setting, no other fictional casino is as well-placed to make serious money off both the number of visitors flocking from all over the universe, but also the immense wealth of galactic VIPs looking for high stakes games.

For those that don’t know, Coruscant is a planet-sized city, and with the more than steady flow of punters such a population can provide a casino, it’s no wonder its estimated value and annual revenues would be so high — high enough to be crowned the biggest casino in all of fiction!