Think ‘glamour and travel’ and what comes to mind? Exotic locations, luxurious accommodation, bright lights, high rollers and a touch of razzmatazz: all of the above right? – You’re welcome to throw in one or two suggestions of your own if you’re keen to add ‘audience participation’ to the party.

But aside from the really high end of the hotel market, which, in truth, not so many of us can squeeze into our regular budgets, how can we grab a piece of that lavish lifestyle for ourselves?

Well here’s the thing. It’s not as difficult as you might think.

A brief survey of some of the world’s most glamourous gambling destinations shows that there is a heck of a lot of subsidy thrown at the hotels and restaurants that are part of what’s on offer. James Bond, eat your heart out. We reckon that if you play your cards right, these resorts give you the chance to make a serious killing on your accommodation.

Of course, the lure of easy money that is integral to the glamour that these resorts trade on. You will find it difficult not to up your spend on some of the gaming going on around you. Less than 15 per cent of visitors to Vegas manage to avoid the temptations on offer – but since most of them are there for a flutter in the first place that’s maybe something you can’t guard against.

You can experience a little slice of the glitz and the glamour of gambling before you decide where in the world you should go. Real, live casino gambling is available on your laptop or your smartphone right now. There are a host of online gaming sites that won’t cost you a penny for accommodation or travel and that offer all the comforts of home into the bargain. For a flavour of what’s out there have look at big online providers such as 32Red online casino or 888 Casino. Think of it as homework and who knows, you might get lucky and win some spending money for your casino trip.

Gambling destinations like Atlantic City, USA, Monte Carlo, Las Vegas, San Jose in Costa Rica and Macau are, naturally enough, a mecca for serious gamblers.  But for the committed traveller, they also offer gateways into the continents in which they lie. If we view them as jumping off stops rather than destinations in their own right, we’re well on the way to turning the tables in our favour.

In summary, the millions of tourists these resorts need to pull in means that there is some seriously affordable and upmarket accommodation on offer. The boast in Las Vegas is that they have 19 of the 25 hotels with the greatest number of rooms anywhere on earth. And with the average stay in Vegas just four days, that makes for a heck of a lot of rooms to fill.  If you think in terms of supply and demand (skewed by those casino subsidies) that makes for a buyers’ dream market.

All of this just goes to show that if you do play your cards right you can enjoy a taste of the international high life and it doesn’t have to break the bank.