By Emily King

Last week, Las Vegas Sands announced plans to house its large “EuroVegas” project in Madrid, Spain.

While the city is honored to be chosen for such a significant tourism project, Las Vegas Sands will only fund 35 percent of the new resort. For a country hurting for money and considering a bail-out, raising 65 percent of funds for such an enormous endeavor will be difficult.

The resort will also require local laws to be altered--the proposed buildings would be much taller than the surrounding skyline, and smoking would need to be allowed inside the casino.

Many are opposed to the building of the casino resort. Many Spanish politicians argue that gambling leads to a higher crime rate, and that while the resort will bring many jobs to a city with a large population of unemployed young citizens, the types of jobs are low-paying.

Barcelona also unveiled intentions for a massive tourist complex last week. The planned “Barcelona World” includes a casino, a shopping complex, 20,000 hotel rooms, and a movie theater; it will be located in one of the region's most popular tourist destinations.