Gambling in Malta

Please have a preview of my new blog entry on Gambling in Malta.

I'm afraid it isn't very interesting, especially compared to my reports from Central America. Pretty much just two small quiet casinos with the usual crop of games.

I welcome all comments, questions, and corrections.

I prefer to say that Malta is slightly less populous than the City of Atlanta, Ga, and with 80% more square miles than the District of Columbia.

I never know what "larger" means.

You really didn't say anything about how the casino looks. Are their beautiful Mediterranean views, or are they cramped inland locations.

You might say in your intro that unlike other small tourist oriented casinos around the world, the games have decent odds. No big time gamblers are going to go to Malta, but if you happen to be there, you can get a good game.

What are the max limits?

European countries and specifically Italy are very poor. Of course, there are wealthy people, but working class has no money to gamble. The exquisite nature of the US casinos reflects the innovative approach of this nation, in other words, casinos, though originated in France, are as American as it can be.

Malta is a small island country south of Sicily. It is 122 square miles, which is about 80% larger than the District of Columbia, or 8% the size of Rhode Island. Since it's a hot spot for Internet gambling, I decided to pay a visit in February 2014. However, Malta also has a few land casinos, too, and this article is about them.

I think the above opening graph is lacking in some pertinent information and should contain a little more Chamber of Commerce type information concerning airplane flights, temperatures, hotels, tourist activities, etc. I certainly think you should mention the siesta tradition and its relationship to Malta tourists and Malta casino patrons as well. Malta is a popular yachting destination and has a certain "season" for tourists.

>"What about the Casinò di Venezia?," you might ask. That place was shut down when I was there.
Do you mean by that that the sheriff came in and padlocked it? Was it closed or appeared out of business?


The gambling age in Malta is 18, except locals must be 25. I've seen countries were locals were outright banned from casinos, like the Bahamas, but never a dual gambling age before.

You might state however that this particular solution does indeed address the worries of most countries.

Dragonara


This is the largest casino in Malta. It is part of the Westin Resort in the busy and modern Paceville part of the country. They have 18 table games surrounded by slot machines and a separate poker room. As I would expect of a Westin property, the casino was pretty upscale while still being friendly and casual.

Their table games were roulette, blackjack, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em and Three Card Poker. As I recall, the blackjack minimums were 5€ and 10€, depending on the table. In Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, the minimum on the Ante and Blind was 5€.

The poker room had two tables but only one was open. The game was no-limit Texas Hold 'Em. My friend played it and said the competition was very soft, with lots of overly-aggressive Italian players.

My only complaint was an overpowering smell of cleaning products. I would recommend drinking a lot of water while there, or anything else, to prevent the taste of the air from building up in your mouth.

...Some information on the time of day of your visit would help here. Was it fairly crowded or not?
...Cleaning smell to having just opened?




Portomaso


The Portomaso is also located in the Paceville part of Malta. This casino is not as upscale as the Dragonara and was nearly void of customers when I was there.
.........Time of day???

My friends and I had to ask a supervisor to open a blackjack table, and the dealer he found was not happy at all to have to do it. Very grumpy and cold.

At one point, he had a blackjack and proceeded to hit it with another card, a 2. He then realized his error and put the 2 back in the shoe. I told him I didn't want it and requested he burn it. He said, "No, the next card is that 2." According to my blackjack appendix 14 , I had a 13% disadvantage with a 2 as my first card so I colored up and walked away. Too bad it wasn't a ten or ace, as I would have bet everything.

..........This incident is perfect for local color. Why didn't you complain to the supervisor to get his viewpoint.
..........A universal policy in Vegas but different in Malta is important, but you should have found out was it
this one disgruntled dealer or was it actual casino policy.

Two things.

1) I find it very commendable that, even in relatively small casinos such as Malta, they have segregated smoking rooms from the main floor. We did the same thing in South Africa. In fact, the gaming boards made it a pre-requisite that, if you want to open a casino in South Africa, you have to provide both a smoking and a non-smoking area (due to country regulations). The smoking and non-smoking areas have to be separate from one another and the smoking areas must be completely insulated from the non-smoking areas. What we had done was cordon off sections of the casino with huge slabs of glass. It gives the feeling of oppeness but the smoke cannot escape. Inside the smoking sections they have large fans and even large extractor fans that take care of the smoke. Obviously you can still smell the smoke but it doesn't hang in the air as you might expect. Also employees have to sign agreements before they commence working that they are OK with working in a smoking environment. If they refuse to sign and the casino still wants to hire them, then they will only be placed in the non smoking section.
I think this idea is something all new casinos in the US should think about. Problem is the initial costs involved. Not sure if they care enough?

2) I have worked in quite a few locales around the world where, if a card had been accidentally exposed, it is the next card to be dealt, no matter what. It is the procedure in the casino I'm in currently. I have been asking them to change their policies for almost 2 years now.......they just don't see the risk.

Oh well.

Quote: Dicenor33

European countries and specifically Italy are very poor. Of course, there are wealthy people, but working class has no money to gamble. The exquisite nature of the US casinos reflects the innovative approach of this nation, in other words, casinos, though originated in France, are as American as it can be.

I agree. The American and Australian casinos do it right. Let's get f---ked up and gamble!

In Portomaso, change "1 Ultimate Texas 'Em" to "1 Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em"


Also you may want to rethink this sentence:

"Their website says they also have Three Card Poker, but I didn't notice it."

It sounds as though you saw it and paid it no mind. I think you meant you didn't see it or find it.

Quote: teddys

I agree. The American and Australian casinos do it right. Let's get f---ked up and gamble!

Boom, signature'd

thank you for the report I have never heart of Malta ill have to check it out

Thanks for all the comments. I'll incorporate most of them.

Quote: Tomspur

I think this idea is something all new casinos in the US should think about. Problem is the initial costs involved. Not sure if they care enough?

What few times casinos have voluntarily gone non-smoking it hasn't turned out well. It will take a change in the law for anything to change here.

Quote:

2) I have worked in quite a few locales around the world where, if a card had been accidentally exposed, it is the next card to be dealt, no matter what.

In such locations, I would have enough chips on hand to make a max bet if the next card is a ten or ace in such situations. However, if I ran a casino any exposed card would be considered tainted and burned, to prevent opportunists from taking advantage of me.

Quote: Dicenor33

European countries and specifically Italy are very poor. Of course, there are wealthy people, but working class has no money to gamble. The exquisite nature of the US casinos reflects the innovative approach of this nation, in other words, casinos, though originated in France, are as American as it can be.

Perhaps, but old men sitting in the sun playing dominoes and trying not to show they are looking at the women passing by is a scene ingrained in Hollywood movies ... so perhaps casinos are not entirely anti-European.

I think the "I did not notice it" is fine.

I know you don't care to "hedge" but at least a mention of "seasons and siestas" seems called for in case you were there at the wrong time for your observations to be a valid sample.

Thanks again for all the comments. I just rewrote the "introduction" and "casinos" sections to incorporate most of them.

the blackjack games don't sound very good. You get any heat as you took all their money?? :)

Quote: Dicenor33

European countries and specifically Italy are very poor.

This sounds very wrong. Along with the US and Japan, Europe basically defines the first world. A quick Wiki shows Italy doesn't do as well as some of the others, but still has $30k PPP and places around the 15th%.