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#239 – London Journal #6 – The Future of London Casinos
The Main Event started two hours ago, at three venues – The Empire at Leicester Square (home for the first two events and the end of the Main Event), The Fifty at St. James Square, and The Sportsman at Marble Arch. I’ve spent time at The Empire and also visited The Victoria Casino; I haven’t seen Fifty or Sportsman yet.
At the Empire, Thomas Bihl, the winner of the first World Series of Poker Europe bracelet, was the first player eliminated, when his pocket queens ran into quad sixes. Three of my friends who made final tables of the first two events – Chris Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, and Andy Bloch – are seated at the same table at The Empire.
And I’m nowhere in sight. How can I possibly be in three places at once to catch the action, especially if I’m due at the Royal Opera House with one of Europe’s leading opera critics, Mr. Anthony Holden, to take in the premiere of Iphigenie en Tauride, at 7:30 PM? So I’m playing catch-up, mostly to pass along my observations about the casinos of London. [I am still behind on entries about my tour of London in the company of Holden, my up-close experience with the WSOP-E when I played the HORSE, and my misadventure with Ted Forrest.]
The London casinos are an entirely different kind of animal, and I applaud Harrah’s for trying to make this work despite the handicaps imposed by the casino set up here. The casinos here are scattered around town, small, and non-descript. There was a change in the laws regarding casinos that took place September 1, and many of the pre-existing laws had been on the books since 1845.
Until September 1, casinos weren’t allowed to advertise. They couldn’t even have big flashy signs. There isn’t a “casino area” like The Strip or Downtown in Vegas or The Armpit in Atlantic City. They’re just these non-descript buildings in the middle of whatever neighborhood they happened to be located in. When Tony Holden took me on a tour through London on Wednesday the 6th, the main thing I noticed when he pointed out The Sportsman, the casino by March Arch, was how it was impossible to tell it was a casino. There was nothing denoting it as such and I couldn’t see a sign of any kind of Holden’s car. (That created a gigantic problem two days later.)
Inside The Empire, which is supposed to be one of the newest, nicest places, it was like the Dunes or the Sands as I’d imagine it in 1975. Small. Just a couple huddled areas for the tables. Low ceilings. Little in the way of “theme” or “design.” Just some tables and some slot machines. Late, late Friday night, when The Empire was full, the place sprang to life, but it was still small, with none of the imagination that’s become second nature to anyone who spends time in Las Vegas casinos.
In fact, I feel silly praising what I’ve always considered the over-the-top nature of the casinos where I’ve spent much of my working life these last four years. But they are big, grand places with an audacity I have to admire when I see the alternative: not unattractive little rooms that say, “Here’s a table, now go gamble.” Arguably, there is something wrong with making gambling appear attractive. It sure is something we do well in the United States, though, so I have to point out that it’s missing from the way they operate casinos here in Great Britain.
Maybe not for long though ….
Although the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (who, ironically, shares a name with a Vegas impressionist), is anti-gambling, a law passed in 2005, “The Gambling Act,” took effect that should have the effect of liberalizing things slightly. But our experience in the States is that anything that favors gambling “slightly” favors gambling A LOT. I’m probably one of the few people old enough to remember that Atlantic City casinos were originally not open 24-hours-a-day. That was a nod to the anti-gambling forces. Apparently, casino gambling so revitalized that area that the opponents rewarded the socially-responsible casino operators by letting them stay open around the clock.
In fact, if you look around casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, you’ll see they have information available about problem gambling and means of getting help. Typically, they have pamphlets available at the Cashier’s Cage, where all the problem gamblers hang out. I’ve been in Paris Las Vegas ten times and I couldn’t tell you where the cage is; far as I know, they don’t have one. Whenever I’m there, I just play until my money’s gone.
The availability of help for problem gambling also seems, in the U.S. experience, to be buried under flashy advertising campaigns. I think it’s A.C. but I’ve seen the slogan “Bet with your head, not over it” as the nod to helping gamblers who need it. Then, in fine print, is a phone number of some gambler’s helpline. But being fine print, I’ve never actually seen it. The fine print might, for all I know, contain the message, “Nah, it’s okay. Bet over it.”
My point is, you can’t get a little casino gambling any more than you can get a little pregnant. London, with its quirky rules – like you have to be a “member” and be “introduced” to be able to join and being closed eight hours a day – and weird locations and advertising ban, have managed to keep the lid on.
I don’t know how or why, but someone decided to lift the lid off. But just a little bit.
The new law has done away with some of the membership requirements, though those were largely artificial. It’s still a requirement that you have to present your card and get a pass to walk in the casino, but I can’t imagine that lasting long. (Frankly, I can’t understand how that keeps anyone from gambling either. It just gets me impatient, which is one small step from tilt.)
Casinos will now be allowed to advertise. I think that means they’ll be able to put up some big signs but I don’t know for sure. (Even if they’re now allowed now, once they get things going with the advertising, that will be the next step.) I’ve enjoyed reading the earnest exchanges among different interest groups about the details of the new law. The advertisements have to include the URL of a website for problem gamblers. A charity that attends to gambling addiction was adamant that its phone number be included, though they lost that fight.
Give it a couple years and the only phone number in those advertisements will be that of a casino host. This business of closing at 6 AM and not opening until 2 PM? That will eventually go the way of colonial powers. Even though Prime Minister Brown is opposing the “super casino” that was planned for Manchester, I think the casino business will eventually demonstrate its power and persistence.
In fact, I may even postpone a trip to visit The National Gallery. Maybe the next time I’m here, it will be The Gallery, a venue finally big enough for the World Series of Poker, with an art collection that rivals the Wynn and the Bellagio.
