Entertainment you won’t find in the Middle East
The United States of America is not just the land of the free and home to the brave. It is also a country brimming with culture, natural beauty and world-famous attractions that draw in millions of foreign tourists every year.
A large number of those foreign visitors come from the Middle East. Not only to experience ht every best of American hospitality and culture, ut to try out certain activities that they cannot do at home.
Never visited America before? Hoping to try something new and take advantage of looser, more liberal laws? Read on to find out what things tourists from the Middle East can do in America that they can’t at home.
Gamble
Whilst gambling laws vary on a country-by-country basis, in general, casino gambling, sports betting and lotteries are illegal throughout the Middle East. In countries where gambling facilities are available, they are usually exclusively available to foreign tourists.
The United States of America has no such blanket ban on gambling, in fact, it is home to the most famous gambling city in the world – Las Vegas. Sin City, as it is known to many, is home to scores of sprawling casinos resembling royal palaces.
In Las Vegas alone there are 130 licensed casinos welcoming both domestic and foreign visitors. If for whatever reason, none of these huge gambling centers is to your taste, you can take attend a famous, privately run Craps game which is held every Friday night by a local taxi driver called Louie.
Outside of Las Vegas, there are thousands of more casinos dotted around the country, especially in large urban areas like New York. In many states, remote gambling is now legal, allowing you to play online casino games on your phone or computer.
Drink Alcohol
Tourism is one of the most lucrative industries in world trade, and vital to the economic growth of any country. One substance highly sought after by tourists looking to unwind and enjoy themselves is alcohol.
This has provided a conundrum for many countries in the Middle East, governed by Sharia Law which prohibits any involvement with alcohol.
Efforts have been made by Middle Eastern countries to make alcohol more freely available for tourists. However, many domestic residents cannot enjoy alcohol freely in their own countries.
In America though, drinking alcohol is very much ingrained in the culture of the country. Famous brands such as Coors, Jack Daniels and Jim Beam all hail from the United States.
The country also has a rapidly growing reputation for fine wine. California is now home to some of the best winemakers in the world, who are taking advantage of the region’s favorable climatic conditions to produce amazing wine that is rivaling those made in France’s famous wine-producing regions.
Californian wines have been rated as better than their French counterparts by a series of industry expertsIf spirits and wine are not your things, then America can offer you a taste of their revolutionary craft beers. In the not-too-distant past, the USA was regarded as the home of poor, watered-down commercial beers.
In the last two decades, that has changed dramatically thanks to the Craft Beer Revolution that started in Boston. Local, independent brewers balked at the commercial beers that were flooding the market and offered an alternative to drinkers through their unique and tasty craft beers.
Thanks to that there are thousands upon thousands of individual and quirky beers to choose from in the USA.
Watch Unique Sports
Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the world, being played by hundreds of millions in almost every country on the globe. However, in America, it is a bit-part player to home-grown sports like Basketball, Baseball and American Football (Gridiron).
Basketball is the third-most watched sport in the USA, and the reason behind its popularity is no secret. The game is one of the highest and fastest scoring games you will see anywhere on the planet. Games often finish on a knife-edge, keeping spectators hooked right to the final second of the action.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls are three of the most exciting teams to watch in basketball right now. If you want to be enthralled, inspired and entertained at the same time, you should make time to watch a basketball game.
For a more relaxed and wholesome experience, you could go and watch a baseball game, which is widely regarded to be the favorite pastime of Americans. A trip to the home of the New York Yankees, for example, will consist of a display of intense skill from the players, as well as an enjoyable and relaxed viewing experience.
For pure action, thrills and unadulterated aggression, there is, however, no sport quite like Gridiron. In terms of viewing figures, the NFL is vastly more popular than any other sport in America. In fact, it would be fair to say that College Football is more popular than both basketball and baseball.
NFL games aren’t only worth watching for action though. Attending a game in an 80,000 seater stadium is a unique experience that’s unlikely to be matched at home in the Middle East.
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