A Dutch former professional gambler and his wife believe they have set a new world record for most casinos visited in 24 hours. But Guinness World Records is still certifying the attempt.
Armijn Meijer and his partner, Dominique van der Geer, recently filmed themselves visiting 110 casinos in Nevada in just one day. The couple started their journey in Laughlin, Nevada, before eventually making their way to Las Vegas. There, they took in every casino on the Las Vegas Strip before heading to Downtown Sin City to finish their attempt.
The official current world record is 74 casinos visited in 24 hours, which could soon be beaten if Meijer and van der Geers’ purported record is certified.
The Gamblers’ Journey
On the day, the couple’s casino journey started in the town of Laughlin, Nevada. But the roots of the feat go back decades.
Meijer, who made millions through playing and then investing in poker businesses, realized he wanted to break a world record when he was 15 years old, growing up in the Netherlands.
Two years ago, the couple were visiting Las Vegas when they happened to meet another couple who were attempting the world record feat. They kept in touch, and later found out the record attempt (93 casinos visited) was rejected. That was because the rules requires table games to be played where available, and they only played slots.
After hearing that, Meijer and van der Geer had two thoughts. One, they could beat 93 casinos. And two, they now knew the criteria needed for success.
The Success
The whole trip took a year to organize. Interestingly enough, in order to hit their target of 100+ casinos, there weren’t enough casinos in Las Vegas proper to hit that target. There are around 160 gambling venues with more than 15 slot machines in Las Vegas. But full casinos-wise, there are around 60.
To hit the full target, the pair started out in Laughlin, Nevada at 2 a.m. The first stop on the epic journey was Harrah’s Casino Hotel, followed by Riverside Casino Resort. The couple aimed to be in and out of each casino in four minutes, dashing to the nearest table game (or slot machine, when no tables were available) and putting in $5 or $10 each.
After visiting the eight casinos in Laughlin, the pair chartered a helicopter to Primm. They visited that small casino town’s three remaining casinos, missing out on Whiskey Pete’s, which has an uncertain future after recently closing its doors.
After visiting Primm, the couple’s team picked them up in a different rental car and they took Interstate 15 into Las Vegas. However, instead of going straight up into the Las Vegas Strip, the pair took an eastward turn and headed towards Henderson.
That took them through Green Valley Ranch Casino, M Resort, and several other local casinos in the southeast Las Vegas suburb.
After visiting a dozen or so casinos there, they went further east to the Boulder Strip casinos, and then headed to the Las Vegas Strip. Starting from the north, they worked their way south, and then north again on the other side, catching every casino, before heading to Downtown Las Vegas. That’s where they finished their quest two hours early, with their final stop at The D Casino on Fremont Street.
In total, the pair walked 18 miles across 22 hours, finishing at 11:15 p.m. They gambled $1,100 at the 110 casinos they visited, winning back $600. They also spent $100 giving out free bets to people who interacted with them or asked what they were doing.
The pair haven’t achieved their Guinness World Record just yet. The publisher told media outlets it takes them several weeks to verify a record sent in by video evidence. In this case, there’s 21 hours of footage to check.
However, Meijer and van der Geer seem to be confident they will be certified.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
