I have a strict policy regarding the paranormal that has served me well over the years. I don’t fool with them, and they avoid me, mostly.
However, I recently had a close friend share a spooky experience he had while on vacation. It stirred something within. Here are the 7 most haunted casinos in the world.
1 – Bally’s Casino
Before Bally’s Casino occupied the prime real estate on the Las Vegas Strip, the site was home to the MGM Grand.
On November 21, 1980, the MGM Grand Hotel was the backdrop for one of the worst fire disasters in America’s history.
Faulty wiring set blaze to the hotel and the scene was chaotic. Firefighters gave their best effort to temper the inferno, but the fire would prevail.
Desperate hotel guests were left with a bone-chilling decision to make. Many hotel guests were faced with choosing between jumping from their hotel rooms high above the Strip or be consumed by the flames.
The terrible incident cost 80 people their lives and remains one of the biggest tragedies in the town’s history.
Bally’s was built on the fire site and even incorporated parts of the MGM that were spared.
Hotel guests and employees have reported bizarre incidents like chairs or tables moving from one place to another while their room was seemingly unoccupied.
A handful of witnesses claim to have seen ghostly figures roaming the halls, specifically near or within the North Tower’s stairwell at the casino.
2 – Bullock Hotel and Casino
If you’re a fan of the HBO series Deadwood, you’ll love this. The Bullock Hotel and Casino is named after the first sheriff of Dogwood, South Dakota.
This casino was built in 1886 and has a rich history of hauntings. If you hear your shower turn on in the middle of the night, don’t call maintenance right away.
It’s probably one of the spirits that inhabit the historic structure. Maybe one of the friendly ghosts will influence the slot machine you play the next day as a thank you for the refreshing bath.
Among the spirits rumored to wander still, the distinguished building is the namesake himself, Sheriff Bullock. Bullock passed away in the casino on September 23, 1919.
If you pass by a familiar face walking to your room at night, yield the right of way. It could be one of the residents that have called the Bullock home for more than a century.
3 – Whiskey Pete’s
Near the state line between Nevada and California sits the small town of Primm, NV. Here you can find the bustling Whiskey Pete’s Hotel Casino.
Pete McIntyre, better known by all as Whiskey Pete, ran the quaint State Line Service Station during the early 1900s. That’s when he wasn’t busy moonshining, hence the name Whiskey Pete.
This eccentric character was well known throughout the valley and by many in Las Vegas. He is now regarded as somewhat of a folk hero.
One thing is certain; Whiskey Pete marched to the beat of his own drum. Going so far as to have his friends bury him standing up on the side of a limestone hill.
Why?
So he could watch everyone pass by, of course.
His friends accommodate, and it’s here where Whiskey Pete remained for years. It’s rumored that during Whiskey Pete’s excavation and construction, Pete’s grave was accidentally disturbed.
If the ghost of Whiskey Pete roaming the vast casino property isn’t enough paranormal activity for you, there’s more.
The bullet-riddled car in which the infamous duo Bonnie and Clyde lost their lives sits in the lobby. Whiskey Pete’s even proudly displays the blood-stained shirt Clyde Barrow drew his last breath in.
Visitors often report strange occurrences at Whiskey Pete’s. There seems to be a cloud of dark energy around the Bonnie and Clyde exhibit.
4 – The Luxor
The Luxor Casino in Las Vegas, NV, has some serious ghosting happening. Not the kind where your crush ignores your calls or texts.
The hauntings date back to the construction of the massive complex. According to reports, 7 workers perished while building the famed casino. The company covered up the deaths to protect the casino’s reputation.
After all, the Luxor is billed as one of the top casino destinations in all United States. Still, many guests have claimed to have seen the fallen construction workers wandering the halls of the hotel.
The Luxor is also host to a Titanic exhibit.
The exhibit showcases several items off the ship that were pulled from the icy Atlantic waters. Luxor employees swear that passengers from the doomed luxury liner haunt the space around the exhibit.
In the late 1990s, several guests at the Luxor committed suicide by jumping from their hotel balconies, and 2006 led to 1 man dying via a car bomb in the hotel’s parking garage.
There have definitely been a number of violent deaths on the property at the Luxor casino. Luckily, the spirits that inhabit the hotel appear to be friendly.
5 – Colorado Grande Casino
The next stop on our tour of the most haunted casinos in the world is the Colorado Grande Casino.
This hotel casino sits in Cripple Creek, Co; a former mining town turned tourist attraction. Then later turned casino hotspot.
The town up until the 1990s was a struggling town on the verge of becoming obsolete. That’s when they struck gold for the second time in Cripple Creek, and Colorado opened the doors on some casinos.
Cripple Creek jumped on the opportunity. The abandoned building that had stood for over 100 years became the Colorado Grande Casino.
The hotel is quite cozy and has only 7 rooms to offer its guests. That means the ghost stories are even more eye-catching.
A pretty large percentage of guests seeing the casino’s star attraction, Maggie. Well, they also claim to have the loosest slots in town.
For our purposes here, we’ll agree that Maggie is the main draw. An interesting fact about Maggie is that nobody knows who she is or from where she came.
She appears in turn of the century attire with her red hair worn up. The building has changed hands several times and has been home to many businesses.
That makes it harder to pin down who she may be. Maggie has definitely been around for longer than the casino, though.
Guests usually report spotting her on the 2nd or 3rd floors of the building, but she’s also been spotted on the slot machines.
I’ve never heard of slots playing ghosts, but she sounds like a lot of fun.
6 – Canfield Casino
Canfield Casino was originally opened as the Saratoga Clubhouse by professional boxer John Morrissey in the late 1800s.
Today the casino serves as a beautiful venue for weddings and events. Don’t be shocked if you have a few uninvited guests at your party, though.
The first sighting that garnered much attention didn’t come until the 1990s. A visitor witnessed a ghostly woman wearing Victorian Era clothing wandering the corridors of the hotel.
A second sighting occurred when a museum volunteer stated that a similar spirit asked a question and then simply disappeared.
Perhaps the second incident served as a catalyst to a rash of strange happenings that followed. The increased paranormal activity includes a glass being smacked out of a guest’s hand during an exhibit opening.
Casino staff has also reported trash can lids flying off and objects being moved in rooms that have been locked. Whatever is causing the disturbances is leaving some visitors and staff feeling hostile energy.
Take this for what you will, but even the TV show Ghost Hunters has joined the paranormal investigation at Canfield Casino. They apparently experienced hair pulling and touching. Umm, okay.
Regardless of the frisky ghosts getting a little too friendly with the television crew, most accounts of ghost sightings remain just that—a sighting and nothing more.
7 – Flamingo Casino
Flamingo is one of the most famous casinos on the planet. The home base for mobster Bugsy Siegel has a bit of a reputation for the strange and unexplained.
Siegel helped to make Vegas the thriving tourist attraction and gambling mecca that you see today.
Siegel was struck down in a hail of bullets in 1947. Since then, people believe he chose the Flamingo as his eternal resting place.
Except Siegel doesn’t appear to be resting at all. Siegel has been spotted in his Presidential Suite and even relaxing poolside.
Some employees were so spooked by bumping into the mobster during their shift that they abruptly quit in the middle of their shift,
Conclusion
It sure seems that casinos are a preferred spot in the after-life. The 7 most haunted casinos in the world definitely make a case for that.
Keep an eye out for spirits on your next casino trip, and maybe you can coax them into helping you hit that progressive jackpot.
Michael Stevens
Michael Stevens has been researching and writing topics involving the gambling industry for well over a decade now and is considered an expert on all things casino and sports betting. Michael has been writing for GamblingSites.org since early 2016. …
