Gambling in the United Kingdom

Quote: sodawater

Nice report, Wizard. Did you happen to visit Dublin on your trip? I would be interested in a report of that city's casinos.

Purely to avoid confusion as the Wizard's report is about gambling in the United Kingdom, the city of Dublin is not in the United Kingdom.
It's in the Republic of Ireland (Eire), an independent country since 1922, however Northern Ireland is part of the UK.

Quote: Jeepster

Purely to avoid confusion as the Wizard's report is about gambling in the United Kingdom, the city of Dublin is not in the United Kingdom.

Exactly. That is why I didn't address anything about (southern) Ireland in the article.

I didn't read the report yet. perhaps I can just ask before I get to it. Was there any interesting advantage plays.

Quote: AxelWolf

Was there any interesting advantage plays.

No.

It is mandatory. that any casino that offers the Super Pay Egalite bet, has to pay 9-1 on the normal tie (therefore the comparison of the 8-1 payout would never apply). Also you would struggle to find any casino offering Punto 2000, it was so disliked, the game was removed from most if not all UK casinos.

Quote: beachbumbabs

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: beachbumbabs

the [evidently large] number of PM's I've gotten this week from people complaining about other people

Really? it astounds me how whiny people can be when I get a glimpse.

I can say pretty confidently I have never officially complained about anybody in a PM. Seems womanish [I assume these are predominantly men whining]

To a man.

Males I should say. Not necessarily men. " Mommy, Mommy, " he's picking on me ! "

The one thing I got out of that was "Tipping Allowed." I work with a floor supervisor who's from Ireland and has worked all over Europe, and he told me that tipping (at least for dealers) in the UK is a new thing. Evidently they used to use the model found now in Oz/NZ where dealers cannot receive tips.

Edwin Silberstang, author and advantage player, wrote a book on counting cards that I read on the flight back from Vegas, and he recalled trying to tip a UK dealer after a big win - she told him that wasn't allowed. Evidently that's changed, possibly because UK casinos were, as my old floor put it, "dreary."

Quote: hwccdealer

Edwin Silberstang, author and advantage player, wrote a book on counting cards that I read on the flight back from Vegas, and he recalled trying to tip a UK dealer after a big win - she told him that wasn't allowed. Evidently that's changed, possibly because UK casinos were, as my old floor put it, "dreary."

The casino I went into in Berlin, Germany was THE most depressing casino I've ever been in. That includes every small-town sawdust joint in Northern Nevada. At least those had character.

The few in Germany that I've been into haven't been great. Most of them require a jacket (which they'll hire you) but sometimes allow you to play their fruit machines in a different area. Many years ago I went to nearly every casino in Northern Nevada - it was a very long week but some were quite unique!

Tipping in the UK used to be illegal, but recently the laws have been relaxed. The one problem in my local casino - and I suspect across the chain - is the tips gets pooled and everyone who works there, including management, have a equal share. Thus you can't actually tip the person who gave you great service - a few waitresses give exceptional service know your drinks and appear like magic, it's annoying that I can't really give them the tip (I still tip to show my thanks).

Quote: charliepatrick

Tipping in the UK used to be illegal, but recently the laws have been relaxed. The one problem in my local casino - and I suspect across the chain - is the tips gets pooled and everyone who works there, including management, have a equal share. Thus you can't actually tip the person who gave you great service - a few waitresses give exceptional service know your drinks and appear like magic, it's annoying that I can't really give them the tip (I still tip to show my thanks).

Confirmed (as long as the chain is Grosvenor).

I haven't been to London for a while but it seems the Hippodrome has added an Underground Casino called Lola's with some dancing girls, it's open from 18h to 06h every evening presumably on the lower floor where the Craps table is.
http://www.casinolifemagazine.com/news/hippodrome-launches-new-%E2%80%99underground%E2%80%99-casino

Hello Everyone

Great overview from the OP there, I'm from the UK and mainly play at Aspers in Stratford and Aspers in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

With Aspers you accumulate points on your players card for your average bet and your initial buy in which can be used against buying Alcohol and such like.

Also is there anything similar to the PairPlus and 21+3 games in Vegas? I play these regularly and do quite well however I will be in Vegas for the first time ever in 5 weeks and would love to play something similar.

Cookie

They definitely have the +3 at Paris and Rio - not sure about other properties. Think I remember seeing it at the Palms as well.

I don't know how I missed this thread the first time, but I did notice something strange about the report:

Don't English casinos offer Chemin de Fer any more? (Chemin de Fer is Baccarat, but a player is the house and offers up an amount for the "bank" against which the other players can bet; also, there are situations where the player and the banker get to choose whether to draw a card or not. If you've ever heard somebody say "Banco" (for example, in A Hard Day's Night), that means somebody wants to bet the entire amount of the bank.)

For that matter, IIRC, what the Europeans call "baccarat" is a variation on Chemin de Fer where there are two different player hands, so two different players can play against the banker. (Also, it is a word that means a hand of zero, as seen in the original movie version of Casino Royale.)

Quote: ThatDonGuy

I don't know how I missed this thread the first time, but I did notice something strange about the report:

Don't English casinos offer Chemin de Fer any more? (Chemin de Fer is Baccarat, but a player is the house and offers up an amount for the "bank" against which the other players can bet; also, there are situations where the player and the banker get to choose whether to draw a card or not. If you've ever heard somebody say "Banco" (for example, in A Hard Day's Night), that means somebody wants to bet the entire amount of the bank.)

For that matter, IIRC, what the Europeans call "baccarat" is a variation on Chemin de Fer where there are two different player hands, so two different players can play against the banker. (Also, it is a word that means a hand of zero, as seen in the original movie version of Casino Royale.)

Hi ThatDonGuy,
The UK casinos don't offer Chemin de Fer any more.

The UK only offers Punto Banco.

as someone else has said, I haven't seen chemin de fer anywhere but punto banco is in definitely.

I tend to be the only white English guy sitting at the table in Newcastle, and the limit is £2000

In Aspers Stratford (London) these are in a sort of screened off high limit area and im sure the maximum maybe £10k

thanks for the info on the +3 games folks its really handy

"English" versus English vocabulary and practices questions.

Years ago most English casinos were membership clubs and considered posh places requiring suits and ties, is that still the practice? Or are players permitted "casual dress" these days?

I thought that years ago waitresses could accept tips but only waitresses... was that true.

Dealers now get tipped in the UK, but I had no idea it was a payroll-wide tip pool.

What is meant by a "punter"... it seems to mean both "bettor" and "john" (in the sense of a man who patronizes street walkers).

Do UK casinos still allow massive simultaneous betting on Red and Black at Roulette as a money laundering service for hookers? (This is from Croupier.

In Vegas, dealers still do crisp clean hand slaps at start and end of shift at a table as well as before and after any unusual action such as using a tissue, adjusting a hair do, but I understand that in the UK its more a pantomime of a hand slap, wherein the hands are slowly brought together without making any noise and then slowly and gracefully spread apart without any noise. Is this true or is this just some sort of cinematic nonsense from 'The Croupier'?

In Vegas we use "high limit room" or "high limit area" (generally) but I understand in the UK the term is 'Salon Prive'?

Most casinos in the USA are awash in alcohol unless on an Indian Reservation or in certain heavily restricted states.
Is it still the case that drinks in the UK may indeed be available but there is absolutely no drunken swilling going on?

There is no difference between the games Baccarat and Punto Banco. I do notice there is now the trend to not offer the normal Tie bet!!! Rather it is being replaced by the super pay egalite, of course you can place a bet on all the possible options, the lowest return would be 22-1 for a Tie on 5 or 7, minus any other losing Tie scores you backed (otherwise it is normally paid at 9-1 if the 'spe' is offered).

I would have thought removing the Tie is a fundmental change of the game, not so according the Gala chain???

Quote: FleaStiff

"English" versus English vocabulary and practices questions.

1. Casual Dress is more common, although a lot still have dress codes (no shorts, football [soccer] shirts etc)

2. Its true that only the waitresses used to be able to accept trips.

3. Punter is used as a simile for customer in a lot of situations over here.

4. I dont think Casinos here ever allowed obvious money laudering for hookers, but I cant say for sure it didnt happen.

5. Here its called "The Silent wipe" where the only sound should be the rubbing of skin on skin. Although some people do the clap.

6. Salon Prive, Private Room or High Limit Room are all used here.

7. There is plenty of drunken swilling going on. Although here most people buy their own drinks. People here can also use their reward points to purchase alcohol, and a select few (the high rollers) are comped by management.

Just a quick addendum to this thread . . .

Chemin de Fer was popular in the UK in the fifties, sixties and seventies, and was offered in private club casinos where the nobs and well-to-do would gather to fritter away their money. Allegedy it was Lord Lucan's gamble of choice before he went missing. To the best of my knowledge it hasn't been offered in the UK for many years, and has never been (someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this point) listed as an approved table game within the UK Gambling Commissions published list. I'm told the only place it is offered now is in France. It can make for a pleasurable family gathering activity - there's a playing decision to make and nobody has to worry about memorising the banker's hand drawer table that underpins Bacarrat. Everyone can also pretend to be James Bond or Sylvia Trenchard.

With regard to the Wiz's observation he made about it'd probably be difficult to count cards unnoticed at the BJ tables in the venues he visited due to the proficiency of the table staff, I find this surprising. My experience in playing in regional (out of London) casinos is that the table staff are usually completely unaware of what to look out for re card counters, and I once heard one say to a player who asked whether she'd ever had one at her table "card counting won't work here as we use six decks". The problem in he UK now is finding a game of blackjack that isn't serviced by a 1-2-6 Dyson AND not having two or more decks (of six - which is usual in the UK) cut off the back. We'll be seeing 6-5 payouts in the not too distant future I'm sure.

Good cards everyone.