Pokemon Go to the Casino!

It’s no secret that Pokémon Go has swept the world, bringing a childhood favorite back into the hands of the adults that used to love it, and rekindling that obsession in unprecedented ways. Sure, children are playing the game as well, but when successful young professionals are walking through their neighborhoods, through their cities, through their country, trying to catch Pokémon from their phone, people take notice, and companies take notice too.

If you’ve downloaded the app and played even for a few minutes, you have no doubt noticed the large number of businesses around town, as well as landmarks and parks, labeled as Pokéstops. Here, players can get things like Pokéballs, Pokémon eggs, power-up candies, and other goodies. Focusing on the businesses in particular, many are seeing players take a break from cruising around town to stop in and have a bite or a drink or both. Restaurants and bars all over the world have seen players pop in on their phones, get a bunch of fun Pokémon stuff, and then spend real money on something real.

So, it makes sense then that your quest for Pokémon could lead you through the doors of a casino.

It’s become most prevalent and a decently publicized news story in Las Vegas, where Silverton Casino isn’t just a Pokéstop, but has four Pokéstops and two gyms inside their establishment, which means players will have to come inside and trot around to find the different Pokémon opportunities, and many have also found their way over to the casino opportunities, like Slot machines, Blackjack, and the like, as well as grabbing a drink at Silverton’s Mermaid’s bar, where many players have stopped to grab a cold one before getting back out there.

If you don’t know what a Pokémon gym is, we apologize for glazing over it. At a gym, you are able to take your Pokémon and battle them against other Pokémon, the Pokémon of the gym, to earn badges, power-ups, etc. These require a little bit of time, and if you lose the fight, you can go back to it later, so with the gyms and the Pokéstops at Silverton, players are spending a lot of time inside, and a lot of time outside, and everyone seems to be winning, whether it’s winning in the Pokémon universe, or gaining more customers.

The real question is, is this a fad, or is this here to stay? It’s safe to say that the only way Pokémon Go can stay relevant is if it constantly updates it. Right now you can’t trade with friends, can’t squad up, and can’t weaken Pokémon before you try and catch it, and the battling, in my opinion, just isn’t as good as it was on the Gameboy. You can’t learn new moves, the avatar customization is incredibly minimal, and the number of Pokémon you can catch are limited, you just might find a stronger version of the same one.

It’s still a ton of fun and brand new, so people are understandably going nuts for it, and businesses, like casinos, are definitely taking advantage.

What an amazing time to be alive! I mean, you can seamlessly go from playing Pokémon to playing at an online casino, all from your mobile device. You can explore your city, catch Pokémon, and find yourself in a bar you’ve never been in, or a restaurant no one is talking about (yet). Want some ice cream? Why not? There’s an ice cream place that’s a Pokéstop right down the street, and that vinyl record store over there is a gym!

I haven’t been playing as much Pokémon Go as I would like. I have to scour the Internet for the best places to place bets online, after all! But it is a great time, and if you loved it as a kid, you’ll sure as hell love it now, guaranteed. Unfortunately and like all video games, if you don’t have a lot of time to play it, other people will have a ton of time to play, and by the time you can get around to it everyone else has like 200 awesome Pokémon and you’re left looking like a pathetic loser that has a job and responsibilities. Such is life.

Technology is amazing. You’re amazing. Pokémon Go is actually pretty amazing. Check it out today, and check out our list of the best sites online to play your favorite casino games.