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From: Dave Death Category: Life Date: 25 June 2007 Time: 11:35 AM Review: For a degenate compulsive gambler, it is strange that until last Friday I had never been in a casino. But at 11pm I found myself in Leicester Square, having just seen a film; my friend had left and I had an hour to kill before the last tube. I happened to be in a suit and have my passport on me. I had in my pocket £125, of which £90 was for my rent. So, I thought, why not visit the much-hyped Casino, a place which its promotional blurb erroneously declares has "literally" brought Las Vegas to London. There wasn't much of a queue to join up and I was soon inside. The ground floor has restaurants and bars - the low lighting giving a suitably louche atmosphere. I could see myself hanging around here. I think it would be a good pick-up joint, if you wanted to pick up the sort of girl who hangs around casinos - and who wouldn't? They have a poker room, but despite it being a Friday night it was closed. I saw the schedule of when they have games, and it seems like it will continue to be an underutilised facility. This is a shame, because I can't imagine how soft the games would be if they were to regularly spread low/mid- stakes cash tables. I went downstars to look at the table games. I was hoping to be impressed by high-rollers gambling massive sums, but having seen online poker players flipping (i.e. pushing both agreeing to push their money in with random cards) for $80,000 earlier in the week I was bound to be underwhelmed. The Casino's roulette tables were full, but mostly by people betting £1 chips. Seeing the huge piles of unlucky chips get pushed into the drop box at the end of every spin did make me wonder why anyone bothered with this stupid game. I saw more money being spent at the blackjack tables, but even then the maximum bets are quite low. I watched punto bacco for a while, not understanding what was happening. They also have three card poker which is played against the dealer. This was the nearest to a game that would tempt me. I didn't see any craps. They were doing a good business, and people had clearly dressed up. You are at present allowed to smoke throughout. The vast majority of the clientele was Chinese or Asian. I wonder what effect this place will have on Chinatown - probably it will bankrupt it! Or maybe it will take custom away from existing backroom places nearby which neither you nor I know about. I left just before midnight. I would like to tell you I went on an Archie Karas-style run - the legendary Vegas gambler who turned a few thousand into $18 million in a few weeks, at one point having all the $5,000 chips in ciculation at the Borgata- and walked out of there a freshly-minted millionaire. Or that I gambled and lost all my money, my passport, my mobile phone, my door keys, my shoes shirt suit and dignity, and that they threw me through the swing doors a naked, broken man. Sadly, however, I spent no money whatsoever. But I'm glad this place exists.