Jinn's Palace
The Jinn's Palace is a famous casino in the nation of Haimadvipa on the world of Kadis. It has a notorious reputation as a place where anything can be wagered on a game. This is, of course, not literally true, and there are some limits to what can be wagered, but much less than one might suppose.
The owner and proprietor of the Jinn's Palace is a man named Shamhurash. This clearly isn't his real name—it's the name of a king of the jinn in Arabian tradition—but he keeps his true identity a secret, managing through his wealth and influence to keep it off public records. Shamhurash generally appears as a large, purple-skinned man with a bushy orange beard—or at least, that's his known appearance, but it's very possible that he has duplicates with very different looks.
Description
In keeping with its name, the Palace is decorated with a fantasy-Arabian theme, with multifoil arches, onion domes, spires, and muqarnas. Its walls are ornamented with intricate tessellated tilings and swooping filigrees superficially resembling—but mostly not actually spelling anything intelligible in—Arabic script. The courtyard at the center of the palace is filled with palm trees and other foliage evoking desert oases, and roamed by camels, peacocks, baboons, and hyenas. (The fact that some of these animals may pose a physical danger to visitors is of little concern given the ease of duplication, and the Palace will gladly duplicate anyone injured or killed by their "wildlife"—an uncommon but hardly unknown occurrence.)
The Jinn's Palace is divided into several "wings" with different theming, the ground story of each wing being devoted mainly to gambling areas and to restaurants, the upper stories to other entertainments and to rooms where long-term guests can stay. The Golden Wing is covered in jewels and precious metals—not especially valuable in the age of the Two Commodities, but beautiful nonetheless, and artfully arranged. The Souk Wing is made out to resemble a collection of streets in an Arabian city, a projection on its ceiling making it seem like open sky. The Perfumed Wing is not only, as its name implies, replete with scents and incenses, but also of soft surfaces, curtains, pillows, and luxurious couches. Finally, the Mystical Wing is filled with trompe-l'œils and other optical illusions, and its walls and chambers sometimes shift about and rearrange. Below the Palace is the Dungeon of the Ghuls, a subterranean venue part of which is designed to mimic a natural cave and part a literal dungeon; there are games here, but the feel and atmosphere of the place is much darker and more sinister—which of course appeals to many of the Palace's guests. Rumors that some parts of the Dungeon of the Ghuls are actually used to imprison those who annoy Shamhurash are probably false.
Games
Many games of chance are available in the Jinn's Palace, some classic and some original. There are games of cards and dice, but also games that require more unusual bespoke equipment. Different types of game are more prominent in the various wings—many of the games of the Souk Wing resemble those that might be run by streetcorner hustlers, while the Perfumed Wing houses many leisurely card games that can easily be played by patrons reclining at their ease.
However, there are a few games for which the Palace is especially noted. The Desert Whirlwind is a game conceptually somewhat similar to roulette in which participants try to predict where an artificial whirlwind will deposit various tokens. The Dance of the Houris involves betting on the motion of spinning tops; there are ways for both the bettors and the host to influence their motion, but there remains a significant random element. The Camel Races are not literal races between living animals, but are in essence an old-fashioned racing board game with betting elements added, the "board" enlarged for easy visibility by multiple spectators and with many eyecatching visual elements added.
Stakes
What the Jinn's Palace is best known for is its supposed policy that anything can be wagered on a game. If this isn't quite true, it's not far from it. Naturally, most bets remain monetary, but people have wagered unique original objects, real estate or other properties, or promises of various services by themselves or their duplicates, to name just a few of the least unusual stakes. As for stakes bettors can ask from the Palace, through Shamhurash's impressive connections and resources the Palace has promised winners such boons as expungement of criminal records, supernumerary licenses, or the provision of information such as the location of a person the bettor wished to find. There are stories of bettors asking to be forgotten, as their spoils of the game—and when they won, of Shamhurash arranging in accordance to their request for all records of their person and their history to be erased and for them to start with a clean slate. On three occasions Shamhurash has put up ownership of the Palace itself as his stake in a game, and on at least one his own hand in marriage. (All four of those games the house won.)
Of course, the stakes must be commensurate with the risk; should one ask a great service from Shamhurash if they win, they will certainly be required not only to put up a significant stake themselves but also to accept that the game they play is one they are very likely to lose. In all three occasions when Shamhurash bet the Jinn's Palace itself, it was on a game with such long odds that his winning was almost certain—but not quite certain, and Shamhurash himself has explained that if he had lost, he would have lost the Palace but gained a great story.
Shamhurash makes a point of being willing to hear out any proposed bet, no matter how outlandish, but of course hearing it out does not require him to accept the offered terms. Shamhurash almost never rejects a deal outright, but may haggle and make counteroffers until either he and the bettor come to a workable compromise or the bettor gives up. When he does give his assent to the deal, he claps his hands and proclaims in his booming voice his trademark phrase: "The Jinn accept your bargain!"
Employees
Naturally, Shamhurash does not run the Jinn's Palace alone; he employs a veritable army of croupiers, custodians, groundskeepers, and hospitality staff. He is generous with his pay rates, and positions at the Palace are highly contested. All in all, the Palace employs just over two thousand people in various röes.
In addition to those workers who interact directly with guests or clean and maintain the rooms and equipment, the Jinn's Palace also has, by necessity, a highly competent security staff. As a place of such wealth and opulence, the casino attracts more than its share of ne'er-do-wells who hope to tamper with its games to favor them or their confederates, steal some of the historical treasures the casino houses, kidnap and ransom affluent guests, or otherwise get their hands on an illicit share of the Palace's metaphorical pie. The security staff is on hand to keep that from happening. Most of the Palace security personnel wear uniforms meant to evoke fantasy-Arabian palace guards, but the head of security is an exception: a costumed hero who goes by the code name of the Simurgh, they wear an colorful outfit covered in fake feathers.