Paradise City, Korea -- Dec. 2024
I visited on December 31, 2024 at around 7:30 a.m. My family stayed at the Grand Hyatt Incheon, which is a 10-minute walk to the casino. I had wanted to go down around midnight, but I was fighting a bug and could not get up from the couch. The Mrs. went to sleep early too. During the breakfast hours, the casino had a good number of gamblers.
It’s a beautiful casino. Most places in Korea are quite clean, luxury or otherwise, and the casino is no exception. I noticed that though Korea in general doesn’t have a lot of trash cans, they could be found in the corners throughout the casino. I didn’t notice any cigarette smoke, though a quick web search says there are designated smoking areas.
The luxurious poker room has 10 tables lined up in a row. The back of the poker room has an elegant bar and four table games (all closed at the time): roulette, blackjack and two baccarat. A YouTube video from nine months ago stated that the poker room is open from 1:45 p.m. to 5:45 a.m., so I didn’t expect to see any games running, but happily saw two no-limit tables still going: 1K-3K won (about 70 cents-$2.10 USD) and 2K-5K won ($1.40-$3.50 USD). There was one open seat at 2K-5K so I got 500,000 won in chips.
I’m bad at discerning ethnicities, but I’m guessing everyone at the table was either Chinese or Japanese. Almost no chatter at the table. The woman dealer who was there for most of my time pleasantly stated the numbers in English and usually called out the action in Japanese. When someone did say something, it was usually in English, as when a guy commented on his partner’s failed all-in with a flush draw. There was frequent raising, but nothing too crazy. Most hands ended without a showdown.
The YouTuber said there are no side tables, which is true, and that you have to go far to get drinks. There was a small table with water bottles and plastic drink holders, so maybe that’s new. Later, I noticed they have self-service soda, coffee, and water stations in the main casino.
They allow straddle from any position. They seem to allow players to run it twice, because one player wanted to, but the aforementioned person with the flush draw did not want to — unless the dealer was waiting for an agreement before saying it wasn’t allowed. Despite Korea being a non-tipping country, the dealers do accept tips, and winners tipped a 1K chip. One time, someone didn’t, but finally did when being called out as “cheap.” I pocketed 6K in chips for the Chip of the Day thread and finished ahead 111K (about $75).
The casino has a bubble craps machine with three dice: two red, one blue. Sic bo and craps are played simultaneously, with only the red dice used for craps. It was 1K minimum for craps so I put in 5K. There’s no wrong way to make Come bets, but I feel like I did it. I made two come bets and added odds, but then I noticed the point had been established like a dozen rolls ago. So I took off my come odds, made a 1K Don’t Come bet, got an 8, laid 2K in Don’t Come odds, and promptly lost it with consecutive 8s. And of course, a 7-out came quickly.
Because of my experience in Macau, I worried that taking photographs would be strictly forbidden. The employees in Casino Lisboa are on you if you even take out your phone near the electronic roulette game. But I snapped some photos inside Paradise City without any scolding.
I found blackjack tables with a CSM and 10K minimum so I pulled out 60K in bills and got wrecked. First hand, 10K bet — loser. But lots of small cards (yeah, doesn’t make a difference with a CSM, right?), so second hand I bet 20K. Got an 11 against a dealer 10. No dealer hole card, so I’m supposed to hit, right? I decided: I’m here to gamble! So I doubled. Sure enough, dealer gets a 10, and I got like 14. And yes, I bet my final 10K chip — loser.
Here are other games and their minimums:
Baccarat: 30K
Blackjack Switch: 40K
Casino War (not running): 10K
Free bet blackjack: 10K
Roulette: ?
Sic bo: 10K
Texas Hold’em: 10K
Three Card Poker: 10K
Slot machines: 1K
Roulette machine: 1K
Stadium baccarat: 10K
Stadium roulette: 20K
I didn’t see any video poker, and the only old IGT slots I saw were Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania 3 and Pharaoh’s Fortune.
When I cashed out my poker chips, I noticed the sign that said they’re selling USD at 1497. We got a rate of 1462 for our $100 USD when we arrived in the Myeongdong neighborhood of Seoul. The value of the won dropped steadily against the dollar while we were in Korea — to a 15-year low! So I gave them 105K won and got $400 USD plus 6,250 won. According to XE.com, 105K won should have been $412.49, so I got $404.26, which was a 2% exchange cost. I’m guessing that was probably better than at the airport.
Korea was great fun. The quality and cost of food and everyday items was delightful compared to the prices in Silicon Valley.
Quote: smoothgrhParadise City Casino in South Korea is next to Incheon International Airport, which is the main airport serving Seoul. Koreans are not allowed in the casino, so you must present your passport at the entrance. You’re then directed to go across the entryway to sign up for a casino membership card. They ask for the card at the poker room when you get chips and at the live table games.
I visited on December 31, 2024 at around 7:30 a.m. My family stayed at the Grand Hyatt Incheon, which is a 10-minute walk to the casino. I had wanted to go down around midnight, but I was fighting a bug and could not get up from the couch. The Mrs. went to sleep early too. During the breakfast hours, the casino had a good number of gamblers.
It’s a beautiful casino. Most places in Korea are quite clean, luxury or otherwise, and the casino is no exception. I noticed that though Korea in general doesn’t have a lot of trash cans, they could be found in the corners throughout the casino. I didn’t notice any cigarette smoke, though a quick web search says there are designated smoking areas.
The luxurious poker room has 10 tables lined up in a row. The back of the poker room has an elegant bar and four table games (all closed at the time): roulette, blackjack and two baccarat. A YouTube video from nine months ago stated that the poker room is open from 1:45 p.m. to 5:45 a.m., so I didn’t expect to see any games running, but happily saw two no-limit tables still going: 1K-3K won (about 70 cents-$2.10 USD) and 2K-5K won ($1.40-$3.50 USD). There was one open seat at 2K-5K so I got 500,000 won in chips.
I’m bad at discerning ethnicities, but I’m guessing everyone at the table was either Chinese or Japanese. Almost no chatter at the table. The woman dealer who was there for most of my time pleasantly stated the numbers in English and usually called out the action in Japanese. When someone did say something, it was usually in English, as when a guy commented on his partner’s failed all-in with a flush draw. There was frequent raising, but nothing too crazy. Most hands ended without a showdown.
The YouTuber said there are no side tables, which is true, and that you have to go far to get drinks. There was a small table with water bottles and plastic drink holders, so maybe that’s new. Later, I noticed they have self-service soda, coffee, and water stations in the main casino.
They allow straddle from any position. They seem to allow players to run it twice, because one player wanted to, but the aforementioned person with the flush draw did not want to — unless the dealer was waiting for an agreement before saying it wasn’t allowed. Despite Korea being a non-tipping country, the dealers do accept tips, and winners tipped a 1K chip. One time, someone didn’t, but finally did when being called out as “cheap.” I pocketed 6K in chips for the Chip of the Day thread and finished ahead 111K (about $75).
The casino has a bubble craps machine with three dice: two red, one blue. Sic bo and craps are played simultaneously, with only the red dice used for craps. It was 1K minimum for craps so I put in 5K. There’s no wrong way to make Come bets, but I feel like I did it. I made two come bets and added odds, but then I noticed the point had been established like a dozen rolls ago. So I took off my come odds, made a 1K Don’t Come bet, got an 8, laid 2K in Don’t Come odds, and promptly lost it with consecutive 8s. And of course, a 7-out came quickly.
Because of my experience in Macau, I worried that taking photographs would be strictly forbidden. The employees in Casino Lisboa are on you if you even take out your phone near the electronic roulette game. But I snapped some photos inside Paradise City without any scolding.
I found blackjack tables with a CSM and 10K minimum so I pulled out 60K in bills and got wrecked. First hand, 10K bet — loser. But lots of small cards (yeah, doesn’t make a difference with a CSM, right?), so second hand I bet 20K. Got an 11 against a dealer 10. No dealer hole card, so I’m supposed to hit, right? I decided: I’m here to gamble! So I doubled. Sure enough, dealer gets a 10, and I got like 14. And yes, I bet my final 10K chip — loser.
Here are other games and their minimums:
Baccarat: 30K
Blackjack Switch: 40K
Casino War (not running): 10K
Free bet blackjack: 10K
Roulette: ?
Sic bo: 10K
Texas Hold’em: 10K
Three Card Poker: 10K
Slot machines: 1K
Roulette machine: 1K
Stadium baccarat: 10K
Stadium roulette: 20K
I didn’t see any video poker, and the only old IGT slots I saw were Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania 3 and Pharaoh’s Fortune.
When I cashed out my poker chips, I noticed the sign that said they’re selling USD at 1497. We got a rate of 1462 for our $100 USD when we arrived in the Myeongdong neighborhood of Seoul. The value of the won dropped steadily against the dollar while we were in Korea — to a 15-year low! So I gave them 105K won and got $400 USD plus 6,250 won. According to XE.com, 105K won should have been $412.49, so I got $404.26, which was a 2% exchange cost. I’m guessing that was probably better than at the airport.
Korea was great fun. The quality and cost of food and everyday items was delightful compared to the prices in Silicon Valley.
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Wow! 😀 VERY intriguing, in depth, detailed , emersive post! 😀 I felt like I was there when I read your post! 😀 Seemed like a fun time! 😀
Quote: NathanQuote: smoothgrhParadise City Casino in South Korea is next to Incheon International Airport, which is the main airport serving Seoul. Koreans are not allowed in the casino, so you must present your passport at the entrance. You’re then directed to go across the entryway to sign up for a casino membership card. They ask for the card at the poker room when you get chips and at the live table games.
I visited on December 31, 2024 at around 7:30 a.m. My family stayed at the Grand Hyatt Incheon, which is a 10-minute walk to the casino. I had wanted to go down around midnight, but I was fighting a bug and could not get up from the couch. The Mrs. went to sleep early too. During the breakfast hours, the casino had a good number of gamblers.
It’s a beautiful casino. Most places in Korea are quite clean, luxury or otherwise, and the casino is no exception. I noticed that though Korea in general doesn’t have a lot of trash cans, they could be found in the corners throughout the casino. I didn’t notice any cigarette smoke, though a quick web search says there are designated smoking areas.
The luxurious poker room has 10 tables lined up in a row. The back of the poker room has an elegant bar and four table games (all closed at the time): roulette, blackjack and two baccarat. A YouTube video from nine months ago stated that the poker room is open from 1:45 p.m. to 5:45 a.m., so I didn’t expect to see any games running, but happily saw two no-limit tables still going: 1K-3K won (about 70 cents-$2.10 USD) and 2K-5K won ($1.40-$3.50 USD). There was one open seat at 2K-5K so I got 500,000 won in chips.
I’m bad at discerning ethnicities, but I’m guessing everyone at the table was either Chinese or Japanese. Almost no chatter at the table. The woman dealer who was there for most of my time pleasantly stated the numbers in English and usually called out the action in Japanese. When someone did say something, it was usually in English, as when a guy commented on his partner’s failed all-in with a flush draw. There was frequent raising, but nothing too crazy. Most hands ended without a showdown.
The YouTuber said there are no side tables, which is true, and that you have to go far to get drinks. There was a small table with water bottles and plastic drink holders, so maybe that’s new. Later, I noticed they have self-service soda, coffee, and water stations in the main casino.
They allow straddle from any position. They seem to allow players to run it twice, because one player wanted to, but the aforementioned person with the flush draw did not want to — unless the dealer was waiting for an agreement before saying it wasn’t allowed. Despite Korea being a non-tipping country, the dealers do accept tips, and winners tipped a 1K chip. One time, someone didn’t, but finally did when being called out as “cheap.” I pocketed 6K in chips for the Chip of the Day thread and finished ahead 111K (about $75).
The casino has a bubble craps machine with three dice: two red, one blue. Sic bo and craps are played simultaneously, with only the red dice used for craps. It was 1K minimum for craps so I put in 5K. There’s no wrong way to make Come bets, but I feel like I did it. I made two come bets and added odds, but then I noticed the point had been established like a dozen rolls ago. So I took off my come odds, made a 1K Don’t Come bet, got an 8, laid 2K in Don’t Come odds, and promptly lost it with consecutive 8s. And of course, a 7-out came quickly.
Because of my experience in Macau, I worried that taking photographs would be strictly forbidden. The employees in Casino Lisboa are on you if you even take out your phone near the electronic roulette game. But I snapped some photos inside Paradise City without any scolding.
I found blackjack tables with a CSM and 10K minimum so I pulled out 60K in bills and got wrecked. First hand, 10K bet — loser. But lots of small cards (yeah, doesn’t make a difference with a CSM, right?), so second hand I bet 20K. Got an 11 against a dealer 10. No dealer hole card, so I’m supposed to hit, right? I decided: I’m here to gamble! So I doubled. Sure enough, dealer gets a 10, and I got like 14. And yes, I bet my final 10K chip — loser.
Here are other games and their minimums:
Baccarat: 30K
Blackjack Switch: 40K
Casino War (not running): 10K
Free bet blackjack: 10K
Roulette: ?
Sic bo: 10K
Texas Hold’em: 10K
Three Card Poker: 10K
Slot machines: 1K
Roulette machine: 1K
Stadium baccarat: 10K
Stadium roulette: 20K
I didn’t see any video poker, and the only old IGT slots I saw were Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania 3 and Pharaoh’s Fortune.
When I cashed out my poker chips, I noticed the sign that said they’re selling USD at 1497. We got a rate of 1462 for our $100 USD when we arrived in the Myeongdong neighborhood of Seoul. The value of the won dropped steadily against the dollar while we were in Korea — to a 15-year low! So I gave them 105K won and got $400 USD plus 6,250 won. According to XE.com, 105K won should have been $412.49, so I got $404.26, which was a 2% exchange cost. I’m guessing that was probably better than at the airport.
Korea was great fun. The quality and cost of food and everyday items was delightful compared to the prices in Silicon Valley.
link to original post
Wow! 😀 VERY intriguing, in depth, detailed , emersive post! 😀 I felt like I was there when I read your post! 😀 Seemed like a fun time! 😀
link to original post
Agreed!
One thing is since Korean currency is called won, when you are talking about how much won you won or how much won you lost if can get confusing.
Even more so in telling it verbally ie “One time I won one hundred thousand won but since the exchange rate was only one dollar for every one and half thousand won I felt like I should have won more.”
A lot of people, myself included, learned that when watching Squid Game. 🤪Quote:One thing is since Korean currency is called won.
The 105K was my poker winnings!
wan Juan won one won.
Dog Hand
Quote: DogHandWhen the pale Mexican finished slightly ahead at Paradise City,
wan Juan won one won.
Dog Hand
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What an interesting tongue twister! 💡🤣🤭
Quote: ChallengedMillyIt's incredibly weird but kind of hilarious that they don't allow actual SKorean citizens to gamble there, but foreigners "please come part with your money..."
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I think it's that way in Singapore too.
Quote: smoothgrhQuote: ChallengedMillyIt's incredibly weird but kind of hilarious that they don't allow actual SKorean citizens to gamble there, but foreigners "please come part with your money..."
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I think it's that way in Singapore too.
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It used to be like that in Paradise Island, and I believe Puerto Rico.
Bahamas is like that. I think it shows a kind of class which is the opposite of say Pennsylvania which is intent on ruining their residents lives with gambling available and encouraged almost everywhere now.Quote: ChallengedMillyIt's incredibly weird but kind of hilarious that they don't allow actual SKorean citizens to gamble there, but foreigners "please come part with your money..."
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