The Philanderer
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monopoly bored
I have just visited the new mega casino at the old Empire in Leicester Square. the last time I went, it was a night club, and Van Halen were the cabaret. We took a bunch of American rugger players from Old White RFC in Atlanta, Georgia. two double decker buses were arrange to get the chaps home safe, although i seem to remember alot of the local ladies took it upon themselves to ensure the Yankee boys were looked after well into the night!
The casino has been billed as London's answer to Vegas. Hmmm, I suspect, therefore, that nobody from the publicists has every been there. It is just a casino, albeit quite a large one, but is in no way comparable with the style of casino seen in Vegas or Atlantic City. If the battle for the first mega casino in Britain is going to provide the winning city with the Vegas experience it will need to try much harder than the Empire.
There are, however, some nice touches in the Empire. There is a Texas hold'em room for the popular poker game which seems to be taking University campus by storm, two good looking restaurants and a chill room presumably for you to go sob into the soft furnishings when you have lost all your stash. There are weekly cabaret nights, and show girls at weekends. but like all casino's, the big plus is reasonably priced drinks late into the night, in a mixed age environment which is hassle free.
There were lots of Chinese punters around, but not a huge Arab presence as there is in their Rendezvous outlet in Mayfair. I nearly traded my wife and youngest daughter in there once, for eight camels and an Abra.
The casino has been billed as London's answer to Vegas. Hmmm, I suspect, therefore, that nobody from the publicists has every been there. It is just a casino, albeit quite a large one, but is in no way comparable with the style of casino seen in Vegas or Atlantic City. If the battle for the first mega casino in Britain is going to provide the winning city with the Vegas experience it will need to try much harder than the Empire.
There are, however, some nice touches in the Empire. There is a Texas hold'em room for the popular poker game which seems to be taking University campus by storm, two good looking restaurants and a chill room presumably for you to go sob into the soft furnishings when you have lost all your stash. There are weekly cabaret nights, and show girls at weekends. but like all casino's, the big plus is reasonably priced drinks late into the night, in a mixed age environment which is hassle free.
There were lots of Chinese punters around, but not a huge Arab presence as there is in their Rendezvous outlet in Mayfair. I nearly traded my wife and youngest daughter in there once, for eight camels and an Abra.
Labels: abra, Atlantic City, casino, dubai, empire ballroom, Las Vegas, leicester square, texas hold 'em
¶ 12:37 PM 0 Comments
