There's an old Greek tradition of gambling on New Year's to get a taste of your luck for the coming year. In the past, this has been mainly been more or less low-key games between friends and family members.

But now, since a change in laws now permits Greek casinos to welcome Greeks as well as foreign visitors, New Year's gambling is big business in Greece, as Bloomberg.com reports, accounting for an appreciable percentage of the annual Greek casino business. They point out that one of the busiest casinos is the Club Hotel and Casino in the seaside town of Loutraki, about an hour outside of Athens.