A PRESTIGIOUS London Casino is counting the cost of its latest promotion after it proved TOO ENTICING, Casino Update UK has learned.
Last month, under the “Lucky Days” bonus, between 3pm and 4pm and midnight to 1am, London’s Victoria Casino paid out roulette bets at 40-1 instead of the normal 35-1 when punters placed their chips on the number matching the date.
This meant players who bet a fiver on number ‘8’ on the 8th made a profit of £200 instead of £175 if it came up — that’s an edge to the player of 10.8 per cent on every spin!
Bosses hoped to coax players to turn up for the “Happy Hours” and stay on the table afterwards.
Ominous Signs
Casino bosses were happy when, by the end of the first week, syndicates of regular customers started to appear on the gaming floor with members pooling resources to cover every spin on every wheel.
But word spread among more sophisticated gamblers who were disciplined enough to bet only when the odds were favourable.
Alarm bells began to ring when around the middle of the month, an un-named player from Eastern Europe — working with a friend — bet £200 on EVERY spin of every wheel on the gaming floor. Practically, at odds of almost 11 per cent, his average result per spin was a win of more than £20.
And with each wheel spinning around 100 times over the two-hour promotion time, the signs for the house were ominous.
In his first few days he ran ahead of random chance and quickly moved up to betting the maximum £500 on each spin.
As news spread of his winnings, more canny punters appeared and gaming floor began to resemble what one manager called a “step aerobics class” with people dashing from table to table, desperate not to miss a bet.
No Danger
Members of the early syndicates began to worry the new boys were doing so well the offer would be stopped and they were proved right: On June 25, the Lucky Days ran out as Victoria Casino PULLED THE PLUG.
Management this week insisted that the promotion was not stopped for cost reasons. A spokesman said the casino was concerned that people might start betting money for others who were not on the premises, in violation of strict UK gaming rules.
But an inside source told Casino Update UK yesterday that “Lucky Days” had proved very expensive for the casino.
“We’re in no danger of cancelling the staff Christmas Party over this, but we certainly won’t ever be doing it again,” they added.
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