Gambling in London

Ironically, with all this talk about craps, this past weekend, right before a night out at the Embassy Bar in London, my mate and I decide to hit the Casino at the Empire located in Leicester square.

Nothing like starting a night out by gambling, and finally, after a long while, getting to play my favourite table game, Craps!

The Casino at the Empire promises a Vegas-Style feel in the heart of London. We'll see about that. I haven't been gambling at all since moving here, so I didn't know what to expect. How can it compare to Vegas?

Unlike in the States, where all you have to do is show your ID, you actually have to be a member before entering the casino. You have to fill out a membership form and even get your picture taken! It took a bit of time, so it was a bit frustrating and killed a bit of the excitement that was building up.

But once we entered, it didn't look bad at all! It wasn't anything close to Vegas, but hey, the layout was nice. 3 bars, different restaurants, and with the non-smoking ban in London, clean air!

Time to play craps!

We grabbed a drink in one of the main bars and walked the floor. I felt pretty lucky so I was keen to look at what the minimum table bets were. Unfortunately, all the tables were only on the ground floor, so it didn't take us long to make a round. There was a decent sized poker room, so that didn't look to bad. As we continued to tour, I started to use my sense of hearing and tried to listen for a big crowd around one of the tables. This usually reveals where the craps tables are located.

One of the first things I noticed was the amount of roulette tables. There were easily 10 roulette tables on one side of the room, with different minimums, and video roulette games occupying the other half! There were also a handful of blackjack tables as well, with minimum bets going at 10 quid. I also noticed the amount of Asians!

We continued to walk, searching for a craps table. I was really excited to show my mate how to play since he's never played! What could be more lucky than a first time shooter!

Oh what's that? Punto Banco? What the hell is that? Oh Baccarat! Strange how its called something else. Oh, what's that over there? Oh more, roulette tables! How about over there, oh.. more roulette! Oh, more Asians!

Sadly, to my chagrin, not a single craps table existed on the floor. I even walked around a few time just to double check because I couldn't believe my eyes! A few Punto Banco tables, a handful of blackjack tables, a couple of 3 card poker games, and a million roulette tables. Hey at least it was a European Roulette table! (better odds since only one "0")

Alas, how can I be in a casino in London for the first time and not gamble?

Roulette it is!

After a few ups and downs, and winning a few split bets, I doubled my money! Not bad for the first time in London. Just enough to pay for cover at Embassy! doh.

Overall, not a bad experience. They even had showgirls perform! If only they had craps tables. (I actually did a bit of research on this, and it turns out there aren't many casinos that have craps tables in London!)

The night at Embassy Bar?? Running man you say? The robot? Indeed. I'll save that for another post. =)