The other reason trust is so important is that modern casino resorts are literally among the most expensive building projects in the history of the world. Some are nearly the equivalent of planned cities, with thousands of residences (in some cases as many as seven thousand hotel rooms, plus private residences) and every imaginable form of leisure, entertainment, shopping, and dining all in one complex. The CityCenter project in Las Vegas, for example, centered around the Aria casino, cost $8.5 billion to develop and build by the time it was completed in 2009. Developers are counting on decades’ worth of profits to earn back their investments. A reversal of the long-standing trend toward greater acceptance of commercial gambling could lead to financial catastrophe.
