G Casino - Coventry Street, London.

[newb99]

Well, I finally made it down to the Smoke for a game of cards in a real casino, with real dealers, real felt tables, a cashiers cage etc etc. Visited the G Casino just off Leicester Square. Thought I'd post this is a notice to anyone else planning a trip to London regarding this place.

Late Saturday afternoon - had to queue for almost ten minutes for the priviledge of becoming a member. No interest in grabbing details for marketing or promotional purposes, just the requisite name, address, photo ID and "look into the camera please". No welcome pack, comps or other freebies as a new member.
"And? . . ."
"The entrance is over there".
Typical British service with a smile - not.

So we're in, a friend and I. Worth the wait? Not really. It's a glitzy plastic-chrome slot arcade with four roulette tables and six blackjack tables all serviced by shufflemasters. Despite that most of the BJ tables were full and people were waiting to grab a place when one came free. "Let's see what else they've got on offer" - as it's all CSM thought I'd play some bacarrat. They don't. So what you're left with is a bricks and mortar version of an online casino, but with the added inconvenience of crowds and a fair number of hangers-on who aren't playing but just hanging around - known as "fleas" in US casino speak?

It wasn't a complete waste of time though. Rather than just walk out, we changed a score into plastic and found two seats at a roulette table. When it's gone it's gone. But, the good fairies were smiling on us, and within five minutes we'd trebbled our £20 buy in. Time to go. This is as good as it gets at this place.

Summary. Don't bother with this place if you're planning a trip to London and including some BJ on the itinerary.

[Doofus]

Nice report. Thanks!

Any shoe games in London? I'd love to hear about those, as I am planning a trip over there soon to take advantage of the strengthening dollar.

[newb99]

A week or so later I did receive a mailer in the post thanking me for my visit and reminding me what a fantastic venue it is. A matter of opinion I think.

I also found this: http://www.gcasino.co.uk/. Didn't realise they had five others across the UK. Don't think I'll be visiting them though.

[HarryKuntz]

Sounds awful, on a plus side, there are plenty of casinos in London and with a bit of searching or telephoning in advance you should be able to locate some decent games. Also, quite often British casinos which use CSM's also have hand dealt games on their higher limit tables.

Better luck next time.

[jinkybhoy]

you add to your chip collection newb?

GALA casinos don't use shuffle machines a far as I know

[newb99]

Indeed they don't - yet. But I can't see it being too long before Shufflemaster's sales rep of the year comes to the UK and offers a "I'll never be able to offer this again" volume deal, and these things show up on the BJ tables of every regional Gala across the country. I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect simply the case of the staff being able to deal continuously without the downtime will be enough to clinch it. We'll see.

[HarryKuntz]

Originally Posted by newb99

Indeed they don't - yet. But I can't see it being too long before Shufflemaster's sales rep of the year comes to the UK and offers a "I'll never be able to offer this again" volume deal, and these things show up on the BJ tables of every regional Gala across the country. I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect simply the case of the staff being able to deal continuously without the downtime will be enough to clinch it. We'll see.

Every time, I walk into a casino that uses CSM's I make a point of asking the pit boss or manager for a hand dealt game and I clearly show my disgust in CSM's saying things like "I don't trust them", "I don't believe they are fair", "Why do they need these cheating machines" etc. etc. I always make it clear that I will not play against one. Sometimes, if I'm passing a casino that soley uses them, I'll make a point of going in just to complain. I also relay this infomation on to any ploppies i come in contact with in any casino that uses them or not.

If more people done the same these machines wouldn't exist.