The casual 743-sq.-m (7,998-sq.-ft.) emporium fits in well with the surrounding shopping mall you might think it's just another store. 297/583-6000), also part of the Renaissance Marketplace in downtown Oranjestad, is Aruba's only waterfront casino. The 1,393-sq.-m (14,994-sq.-ft.) parlor features 373 slot machines, bingo, and tables for roulette, craps, baccarat, blackjack, Caribbean stud poker, and Texas hold 'em.

More elegant than most gaming venues on the island, the Crystal boasts Austrian crystal chandeliers, gold-leaf columns, ornate moldings, Spanish mirrors, and Italian marble and brass. 297/583-6000), is Aruba's only 24-hour casino featuring round-the-clock table action. Located in downtown Oranjestad at the Renaissance Aruba Resort, the Crystal Casino, L.G.

As is the case elsewhere, you can order drinks at no charge from the circulating waiters, but they will only bring your order if you are diligently feeding the slot machines or placing your bets. Because smoking is allowed and ventilation is lacking, nearly all casinos have a heavy smell of smoke that will quickly permeate your hair, clothes, and lungs. While the minimum age for entry is 18, this rule is only loosely enforced. All big hotels on the High-Rise strip have a casino open to guests and nonguests alike. The Crystal Casino as well as the Seaport Casino in downtown Oranjestad are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The action goes on as long as there's a crowd, usually until 2, 3, or 4am. Bingo, another diversion, starts in the afternoon at some places, in the evening at others. Table games such as baccarat, blackjack, poker, roulette, and craps usually start in the afternoon or early evening slot machines can usually be played in the morning. Today, Aruba boasts a dozen gambling venues, most of them casually elegant. For many years after Aruba's first casino opened in 1959, gambling was the island's major attraction (next to the beaches, of course).

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