The Gaming Club

I just paid my taxes a few weeks ago and my bank account's a little dry. So I was more than happy to jump at the chance of 25 bucks free for gambling at The Gaming Club. Hey, if the cards fall right I should walk away with 500 bucks with no risk. Am I right?

 

The Gaming Club uses MicroGaming software. As mentioned in previous reviews, MicroGaming's casino games (downloadable by the way) aren't the snazziest but they're okay. And The Gaming Club is part of MicroGaming's CashSplash progressive slot machine network. In fact, The Gaming Club recently paid out the biggest online progressive jackpot ever: $136,774.14.

 

I went through the sign-up process and The Gaming Club proved true to their word. Twenty-five dollars appeared in my account and I hit the blackjack table. Unfortunately the cards didn't fall my way and I was cleaned out in a matter of minutes.

 

Now a couple things have always annoyed me about MicroGaming's blackjack. First, the cards are dealt way too slowly. And second, you can only bet in increments of 2 so there's no $5 chip.

 

Still, MicroGaming and The Gaming Club do have a few things to be said in their favor. Their PlayCheck system, which allows you to track your playing history to resolve disputes, is an excellent innovation. And The Gaming Club's payout percentages are audited by Price Waterhouse Coopers. https://www.ddligaz.com/ The latest report I viewed online (for February 2000) indicated an overall payout of 96.71% with slots giving the poorest return at 94.93% and table games the best at 98.18%. For comparison, a recent, similar audit at Sunset Casino revealed an overall 97.23% return.

 

I didn't get a chance to play video poker -- my bonus didn't stretch that far -- but I did note that the pay table for Jacks or Better is 1 2 3 4 6 9 25 50 250 and for Deuces Wild 1 2 2 3 4 13 16 25 200 250. Published actual payout for The Gaming Club's poker games (again for February 2000) is 95.97%.

 

To sum up, there are better casino games than those offered by The Gaming Club but few better bonuses. They'll give you $25 free. So what's the harm in trying them out?

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Gambler's Palace

           

The Wizard of Odds - "In terms of customer support, Gambler's Palace is excellent. I peppered them with a lot of questions, and each and every one was answered quickly and in detail. Definitely one of the best Unified Gaming casinos."

 

Transnet

           

The Wizard of Odds - "I very strongly believe that Transnet does not play a random game of Video Poker. If the cards were dealt randomly, their Joker Poker game would have a theoretical return of 148%. In addition, I am suspect of their Blackjack game but to a lesser degree."

 

Go to TheWizardofOdds.com for more information on Transnet.

 

Gambling Stadium

                                   

Gambling Stadium is a casino center where "one account gives you full access to multiple casinos." These casinos are Mona Lisa Casino, Shangri-La Casino and Snap Casino. The concept of being able to choose from multiple casinos at one Net location is appealing, until you discover that all of the casinos in the Gambling Stadium group are virtually identical, powered by the same Unified Gaming Java (no download required) software.

 

Although Unified Gaming software is somewhat primitive, it's lauded by online blackjack enthusiasts for its favorable blackjack rules -- arguably the best on the Net.

 

At Snap Casino, the Gambling Stadium casino I chose to play, you have your choice of a single-deck game or a six-deck game. Savvy blackjack players know the fewer the decks, the better your chances of beating the house, and steer clear of the six-deck game. Table limits for single-deck bj at Gambling Stadium are $1-10, $10-50 and $25-100. The dealer stands on soft 17, you can double on any 2 cards, and double after splitting. Another player-friendly rule is early surrender against an ace, meaning that you can give up half your bet BEFORE the dealer checks for blackjack. Late surrender is available against a ten.

 

The rules had me salivating but, for reasons unknown, my credit card deposit took nearly 24 hours to go through. The site claims that deposits are processed Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST. If outside of this time frame, the deposit will be posted by noon the next day. Guess you're out of luck if you want to play late at night.

 

When the chips finally reached my account the next day, I dropped a couple of hundred at the blackjack tables, so I can't vouch for the withdrawal system. But if it's as slow as the deposit system, I wouldn't expect payouts to be especially prompt.

 

Gambling Stadium offers a 15% match play bonus on your initial deposit of $500 or more. Deposit $100 to $499 and they''ll add a 10% match play bonus. After you've played enough to qualify, a little "play bonus" button automatically lights up. Nice touch.

 

In addition to blackjack, video poker, slots, keno, roulette, paigow and baccarat are also available.

 

Gambling Stadium, which is headquartered in San Pedro, Costa Rica, has plans to purchase ten Internet casinos by December 2001. All the new casinos will be incorporated into this site as they are acquired, and customers will be able to play at each new casino using their Gambling Stadium account.