NightlifeCasinos: Let
the Good Times Roll--The casinos of the big hotels along
Palm Beach are the liveliest nighttime destinations. They stay
open as long as business demands, often into the wee hours. In
plush gaming parlors, guests try their luck at roulette, craps,
blackjack, and, of course, the one-armed bandits. Limits and
odds are about the same as in the United States.
The Excelsior Casino, J. E.
Irausquin Blvd. 230 (tel. 297/8-67777), wins the prize
for all-around action. Its casino doors are open from 8am to
4am. The Aruba Grand, J. E. Irausquin Blvd. 79 (tel.
297/8-63900), opens its games at 10:30am; it stays open
until 1:30am. The Casino Masquerade, at the Radisson
Aruba Caribbean Resort Casino, J. E. Irausquin Blvd. 81, Palm
Beach (tel. 297/8-66555), is one of the newest casinos on
Aruba. On the lower-level lobby of the hotel, it's open from
10am to 4am daily. It offers blackjack, single deck, roulette,
Caribbean stud, craps, and "Let It Ride."
One of the island's best is the
Crystal Casino at the Aruba Sonesta Resort Casino at Seaport
Village (tel. 297/8-36000), open daily 24 hours. The
14,000-square-foot casino offers 11 blackjack tables, 270 slot
machines, four roulette tables, three Caribbean stud-poker
tables, two craps tables, one minibaccarat table, and three
baccarat tables. This place has luxurious furnishings, ornate
moldings, marble, and crystal chandeliers.
Visitors have a tendency to flock to the
newest casinos on the island, like the one at the Wyndham
Hotel and Resort, J. E. Irausquin Blvd. 77 (tel.
297/8-64466), or the Hyatt Regency Aruba, J. E.
Irausquin Blvd. 85 (tel. 297/8-61234). The Royal
Cabana Casino, at the La Cabana All Suite Beach Resort
Casino, J. E. Irausquin Blvd. 250 (tel. 297/8-79000),
outdraws them all. It's known for its multitheme three-in-one
restaurant and its showcase cabaret theater and nightclub, with
Las Vegas-style revues, female impersonators, and comedy series
on the weekend. The largest casino on Aruba, it offers 33 tables
and games, plus 320 slot machines.
The Alhambra, J. E. Irausquin
Blvd. 47 (tel. 297/8-35000), is a complex of buildings
and courtyards designed like an 18th-century Dutch village.
About a dozen shops here sell souvenirs, leather goods, jewelry,
and beachwear. From the outside, the complex looks Moorish, with
serpentine mahogany columns, arches, and domes. A busy casino
operates on the premises (open from 10am till very early in the
morning, usually 3am).
