The Icy Wilds slot game malfunctioned in 2017 and after investigation it was confirmed that the game paid a lower than target percentage return.
To ensure that Les Croupiers Casino has not benefitted from this fault, all monies associated have been donated to a responsible gambling charity, GambleAware.
August 2018
The gambling industry in the UK alone, is now worth around £14 billion, with the most popular form of gambling being casino games. Gambling itself can be traced back many centuries, and there is archaeological evidence of its existence in China in the 3rd century BC. However, the first gambling house, or ‘casino’, opened in 17th century Venice, Italy. Since then, the concept spread, with casinos opening all over Europe and the United States.
BLACKJACK
Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games. It is first mentioned in a novella written by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, way back in the 17th century. Back then the game was known (and still is by many) as twenty-one, as the object of the game is to reach twenty-one with two cards. However, the name Blackjack was introduced when casinos in the USA began offering bonuses if the player revealed a black Jack in their hand, and so the game became widely known as Blackjack.
POKER
This wildly popular card game goes from strength to strength, played the world over, by friends in the home, to huge tournaments like the World Poker Series; aired to a global audience of millions of poker fans. However, the exact origins of the game are not that clear. The game was played in the deep south of North America, but it really took off in the latter part of the 20th century, when the casinos opened their doors to it. Now, in the 21st century, it is only right that the game has carved out a space for itself in the virtual world, with many websites offering people the opportunity to play from anywhere.
FRUIT MACHINES
By far the most popular of all the casino games, the fruit machine was invented in the late 19th century by Sittman and Pit. This was a very basic machine and was later improved upon by a man named Charles Fey, who simplified the mechanism to three spinning reels with five symbols. Known also as ‘one-armed bandits’, because they were originally operated solely by a lever on the side, and usually took your cash, fruit machines can now be found in almost every pub, club, betting shop, and casino.
All of these casino games, and many others besides, have become a hugely popular form of entertainment online, enticing new audiences the world over. Casino games are going nowhere anytime soon.
Gambling can be an enjoyable hobby, but if it is not done sensibly it can swiftly turn in to a nightmare. Everyone should gamble responsibly, so simply follow the tips in the guide below to ensure that you keep gambling fun rather than stressful.
It is very important to check in regularly with yourself to ensure that your gambling habits are not out of control. A gambling addiction can creep up on you almost imperceptibly so why not mark a day once a month in your diary to sit down and think hard about how gambling has been affecting your life? Ask yourself whether gambling has ever caused you to miss time from work or for important occasions involving loved ones (such as anniversaries, birthdays, or picking the kids up from school). Ask yourself whether gambling is causing you to become stressed or lose sleep. Ask yourself whether you find it hard to tear yourself away from gambling and have thus gambled longer than you initially planned to. Ask yourself whether you cannot buy things that you need to (such as food or Christmas presents) due to your gambling. Finally, ask yourself whether you have ever considered doing something illegal, untrustworthy or self destructive to finance your gambling. If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, it is time to take action in order to gamble more responsibly.
The first thing to do is to suspend all of your gambling whilst you take stock of the situation. Then, talk to the appropriate people about the problem. A spouse or partner, or a close friend, is a good person to talk to. In addition casino and gambling site managers are also good people to talk to as they will be experienced in the issue of irresponsible gambling. They will be able to implement limits on how much you can gamble with, and if you ask them to, they can suspend your account or ‘bar’ you from their establishment for a certain period of time whilst you sort out your gambling issues. There are also numerous gambling helplines that you can call who will be able to help you through this difficult time in confidence and in a non judgemental fashion.
Whether you gamble responsibly or whether you think you have a problem with your gambling, honest is always the best policy. Be honest with yourself and others about how much you spend when you gamble and how it is affecting your life. Problems will only get worse if you ignore them.
GamCare Helpline: 0808 8020 133 or visit www.gamcare.org.uk
They provide a confidential telephone counselling national helpline for anyone who is concerned about their own, or someone else’s gambling.
Gamblers Anonymous Helpline: 020 7384 3030 or visit www.
They are a self-help fellowship of compulsive gamblers wanting to address their gambling problems.
Gordon House Association Tel. 020 8778 3331 or visit www.
They have a hostel providing accommodation, therapy and rehabilitation for compulsive gamblers.
National Debtline Tel. 0645 500 511 or visit www.gamcare.org.uk
Slot machines, fruit machines, one-armed bandits, call them what you will but one fact remains true, and that is their enormously popularity. There can’t be many of us that haven’t used one at some time in our lives. The alluring appeal of it’s bright lights, beckoning us mercilessly. The eager rummage through our pockets to find a few spare coins and the delight when we find one…but just why do we like them so much?
REAL GAMBLING
Gambling is a popular pastime. To have the opportunity to win money is obviously appealing and many of us succumb to it. But are slot machines in the same league? Could a machine in a pub be considered ‘real’ gambling? In actuality it is of course but the way slot machines have integrated themselves into so many areas of everyday life, gives us the mental excuse to answer, ‘no’. This process allows us to convince ourselves it’s nothing more than a bit of harmless fun and explains at least one aspect of it’s appeal.
NOSTALGIA
Unlike it’s straight-laced gambling counterparts, the slot machine has been designed for fun. From the amusing cartoon characters beaming widely at you, to the flashing coloured lights and sounds. There is an undeniable air of pure nostalgia about them. Many of us have grown up peering excitedly at these coin-guzzling wonders, and so they’ve become a firm favourite in our psyche. It’s a bit like Christmas, as much as we may moan and grumble about it as we get older, there is always a touch of magic to those fairy lights, whether we want to admit it or not.
CONTROL
Although we have very little control over our financial fate when it comes to playing the slot machines, we don’t actually believe that. It’s not as if we were standing in front of a card dealer, waiting for our fate to be dealt, this is just you and the machine. You know deep down inside that if you press that button quick enough, that jackpot is yours. You’re sure that lucky pound coin will do the trick…in fact of course none of it is true. But even if we are only dreaming, it’s hard to resist the empowerment we think those friendly-faced cash machines give us.
Roulette’s roots can be traced back to a similar-looking numbered wheel built by French mathematician, Blaise Pascal in the mid-17th century. His intention was actually to build a perpetual motion machine. He didn’t get very far with that, of course, but a century later his wheel inspired the game now known as roulette. Apparently, the great mathematician didn’t foresee the money-making potential his wheel had.
By the 18th century, numbered wheels virtually identical to Pascal’s original 36-slot wheel started to make an appearance in France as a game of chance called roulette. It’s not the most imaginative name they could have found, but far better sounding in French than its English translation “little wheel”.
An interesting myth arose around the game when it was realised that the 36 numbers on the wheel if added together total 666 – the biblical number of the beast! The satanic connection with roulette didn’t seem to put many people off playing it, though, so that myth soon died out, and the game flourished.
In 1842, two brothers in Germany, Louis and François Blanc, modified the wheel to include a slot for the number zero in addition to the existing 36 slots. That was an important modification because it reduced the probability of winning and gave the house more of an edge. Unfortunately for them, Germany outlawed gambling including roulette, just as things were picking up. Undaunted, they took their wheel to other parts of Europe and opened gambling dens with their roulette wheels in pride of place. They made a success of it and soon popularised roulette on a Europe-wide scale, and in 1863, the famous Monte Carlo Casino opened in Monaco.
Meanwhile, as the 19th century progressed, roulette wheels found their way into the USA. Yet another modification was made. They added a new slot for double zero increasing the total number of slots to 38 and reducing the odds of winning even further.
During the mid-20th century, some enterprising gamblers with a bit of tech savvy looked for ways to increase the odds of winning. It’s impossible to predict which slot the ball will fall into, but under laboratory conditions, with cameras and computers, it’s possible to predict which region of the wheel the ball will eventually fall into, which greatly increases the odds of winning. There have been attempts to try it in actual casinos – very discreetly of course, as casino managers don’t take kindly to people coming in and setting up cameras, stop watches and the like. Some have been caught with concealed devices and unceremoniously ejected – or worse. Some haves succeeded, but we’ll never know much about them as they tend, rather sensibly, to keep quiet about it.
If you would like to play casino games visit us at Les Croupiers!
Here are the top 5 casino games that you can play today.
Slot machines
You can play many games on slot machines. If you were in an actual casino, you would need to insert coins into the machine, but the online casinos let you play interactively. Some casino websites allow players to play for free, but bear in mind that you won’t win any cash prizes this way.
Blackjack
This engaging card game is played between the dealer and the player. The house or the dealer will deal out 2 cards to each player whilst keeping 2 cards. One card faces up and the other one down. Whoever gets close to scoring 21 will call ‘hit’ and end their turn. If you double your bet, you will call ‘double’. Blackjack is a type of card game that will keep you entertained for hours.
Craps
Another highly popular and fun casino game is called craps. This game is huge in real casinos for the sole reason that it generates lots of excitement with the crowd whenever the player is throwing the dice. Craps has been drawing the attention of casino-goers for a number of years as it’s possibly the most addictive game.
Roulette
With roulette, you would need to place your chips on a table that consists of numbers 0, 36, 00. You can bet for even-odd, low 18 high, black-red, or high 12, among many more. The wheel is spun clockwise by the dealer before rolling the ball counter-clockwise. If your bet matches with the number, you will win.
Poker
Poker isn’t technically a single game as there are many different variants out there. Some of the most popular types of poker games include ‘three card’ and ‘Texas Hold’em’. The very latest poker game that has taken the Web by storm is the ‘ultimate Texas hold’em’. This game is played against the dealer and can be played online.
All the casinos offer the mentioned games but their prizes and bonuses differ from one another. If you want to play any of the above games online, take the time to look through their prize offers before signing up.
Do you like your card games to be fast and exciting? If so, then welcome to Punto Banco.
Punto Banco is a game of prediction. It is very similar to Baccarat but without any optional plays. In this game, players bet on which two hands, the players (Punto) or the bankers (Banco), will be closest in value to 9. Or if the hand will be tied, known as “Egalite”.
The term player and banker do not refer to you or the casino, but instead think of yourself as an observer, betting on an outcome. Before we start, let’s take a look at the value of a card. Ace cards are worth one point. Numbered cards are worth their face value, and all other cards do not score any points.
The player and the banker each receive two cards and their total values are calculated. However, because the goal is to get as close to 9 as possible, if that total goes into double digits, such as 11, only the last digit counts. That means, if the players first two cards are 6 and 6, then this totals 12, but the score in the game is only 2.
One thing to look out for is what’s known as a “natural winner”. This is when the player and the banker’s first 2 cards each total either 8 or 9. If this happens, and both hands total the same, all bets are returned and the game starts over. If, however, one has an eight and the other a 9, the high scoring 9 is declared a natural winner.
How to play Punto Banco.
Punto Banco tables have different minimum bet amounts. Minimum and maximum bets are clearly marked on each. Look for an empty seat at a table where the minimum bet is one you are comfortable with. Before you play you need to place your money on the table in clear view of the dealer, and ask for chips.
The game starts when you place your bet on one or more winning options i.e. player (Punto), banker (Banco), or tie (Egalite). Simply place your bet in the box of your choice. The dealer will close any further bets and then deal the player and the banker two cards each.
A maximum of 3 cards will be dealt on either side. There is a strict set of rules which decide if the banker receives a third card. These drawing rules are available at the table, but the dealer will take care of this for you and they will know to deal if needed. In time, you’ll be able to tell straight away if a third card for the banker will be played.
If you choose to bet on the player and this hand wins, you will be paid even money. If you choose to bet on the banker and it wins, you will be paid 19 to 20. Playing Punto Banco is really quite easy, which is one of the reasons why this game is so enjoyable.
Gambling is undoubtedly only a matter of fortune, if you only apply your bets at random or just for fun. Nonetheless, many types of wager and gambling games can offer considerably improved rates of return when player skill is employed. Rather than relying on lady luck, many gamblers are able to outperform the general public because of the skills they have honed. Sometimes it comes down to understanding just how a game works and other times knowing when the most advantageous time might be to place a bet.
Let’s look at simple example. In a game of pontoon or blackjack a player must try to score 21 or fewer, but not go over. If they hold a score of twenty in their current hand, then opting for another card from the dealer is more likely to produce a result over 21 than not, given that most cards score two or more. Therefore, skill – or good player judgement – would dictate sticking on the current hand’s score. Of course, an ace might be the next card, but statistically speaking it is unlikely to be. Therefore, a player enhances their chances of winning a hand due to the skill they have playing it.
When betting at a roulette table, as another example, players might just throw their chips down at random. This might yield great results, but sticking to a strategy, such as doubling losing bets until a winning result is generated may well be more favourable, given the limitation in place of the house advantage. Many horse racing gamblers study statistical form and factor in the ground conditions in order to maximise their chances of beating the odds and, in many ways, casino gambling is not much different.
Moreover, a popular game like poker requires a great deal of player skill to master. Although, like many gambling games, the outcome relies on a series of random events – in this case the fall of a deck of cards – poker has another significant element, that of human psychology. In poker, the best players increase their chances of winning by skilfully ‘reading’ their opponents betting strategies and so-called tells. A tell is a subconscious signal to other players that might reveal when they are bluffing, for instance. Although many games also rely on a sound understanding of psychological traits for players to win, few offer the same betting opportunities for skillful gamblers that poker does, which is why it is such a hit in casinos all over the world.
An exciting night out in Cardiff often includes a visit to Les Croupiers Casino with its green tables, slot machines and famed Poker Tournament, frequently ending up in the popular Dragon Court Chinese Restaurant just upstairs from the casino gambling area. Chic comfort, good food and a wide-angle view of Cardiff and the City Stadium complete the Dragon Court proposal to round off your evening in style; it is open nightly until 3 a.m.
The menu is vast and varied. Alongside noodles and various types of rice there is an enormous range of authentic Chinese regional dishes. Add to that a wide choice of fish and sea-food specialities, roast or grilled meat dishes, as well as vegetarian and vegan cooking, all exquisitely prepared and presented: the Dragon Court has something for everyone. To excite your curiosity and your appetite, here are a couple of eye-catching items from the lengthy à la carte menu: ‘Five Willow Fish Fillet’ and ‘Kung Po Chicken’. Then there is ‘Buddhist Vegetarian Dumpling’ on the Dim Sum menu, amongst 150 (no exaggeration) other delectable offerings. The drinks menu is also pages long, ranging from Dom Perignon to wines, to aperitifs, to Chinese tea.
The Dragon Court prides itself on excellent cuisine and many Chinese and international specialities. The famous Peking Duck and stir fried fresh lobster are among the culinary delights on offer. Student discounts and a prompt takeaway service are popular features of the Dragon Court’s many services, as is complete catering for weddings, Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day and other banquet occasions, and there is even a karaoke room.
The Dragon Court is located above Les Croupiers Casino in the Capital Retail Shopping Park in Leckwith Road, Cardiff. Table bookings or takeaway orders can be made online or by calling 0292 022 0220.
Whether it’s playing the lottery, playing poker, betting, or bingo, any activity that involves taking a risk for the thrill of the pay-off counts as gambling. It is possible to enjoy these activities without it becoming a problem; the key is moderation. When gambling begins to take over your life – using up a lot of your time or money, leading to a dependency – it is no longer being enjoyed in a healthy way.
To gamble responsibly, you must make an effort to maintain control over your expenditure, enjoying it as part of a balanced lifestyle, rather than letting it become the main activity you dedicate your time and money to. Of course, this is easier said than done, and many people struggle with gambling addictions, however there are some steps that you can take to keep your gambling under control:
1. Decide how much you will spend before you start playing
Set a limit on your spending, before you start gambling, based on how much you can afford to lose. When that money runs out, the activity is over.
2. Only gamble with your disposable income
Set money aside for gambling as you would for other entertainment activities. If you wanted to go to the cinema one week, you would set the money aside after paying your bills and anything else you are financially responsible for, do the same with gambling.
3. Do not try to win back what you’ve lost
Your limit is the limit. Trying to win it back defeats the point of setting it, and will almost always lead to a bigger loss.
4. Limit your time
You would not lose a whole day just to go and see a movie, you’d fit it into your schedule. Set a limit or alarm and when your time ends, cut your losses.
5. Do not view gambling as a way to make money
Very few people make money from gambling, and it absolutely cannot be relied upon. View it as something you pay for to have fun, not something you expect to gain from.
6. Do not take your bank card with you
This will stop you spending money spontaneously instead of sticking to your limit.
7. Do not gamble when you’re upset or depressed
Just as drinking alcohol for fun on a night out is very different to drinking to drown your sorrows, gambling for fun is very different to gambling to console yourself. It is indicative of an unhealthy relationship with gambling (using it as a vice), and will usually lead to poor decision-making.
8. Engage in other activities
Gambling should not be the only thing you enjoy, and if you get to that point you probably don’t really enjoy it anymore. Make sure you always have other pastimes to turn to.
9. Take regular breaks
It’s easy to get sucked into gambling and lose all sense of time. Take regular breaks to keep you thinking clearly.
10. Do not gamble under the influence of alcohol or drugs
These substances impair your judgement, making it much harder to maintain control.
