Canberra Casino Poker
The Casino Canberra is Australia’s only land-based casino yet to get a license to offer the pokies. It is Best Places to Play Pokies in Canberra. When it opened in the early 1990s, it was licensed under the strict condition where it was not allowed to offer poker machines, as it was available only in the pubs and clubs.
- Casino Canberra offers a variety of tournament play and hosts poker games in the Lotus Room, which has a dedicated poker parlor, as well as a sports bar. For the most part you are looking at No Limit Hold’em on Thursday nights starting at 7:45pm. Poker cash games are also now available here to enjoy.
- Tourists vising Canberra and residents of this Australian Capital Territory city have a single casino complex where table games and poker are allowed – Canberra Casino, also known as Casino Canberra. Canberra Casino Game Details Casino customers looking for traditional table games and poker will find Canberra Casino a welcome spot.
| Casino Canberra | |
|---|---|
| Location | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory |
| Address | 21 Binara St, Canberra ACT 2601 |
| Opening date | 29 July 1994 |
| Casino type | Land |
| Owner | Aquis Group |
| Operating license holder | Casino Canberra Limited |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: 35°17′00″S149°08′04″E / 35.2833°S 149.1344°E |
| Website | casinocanberra.com.au |
Casino Canberra (or Canberra Casino) is a casino located in the Central Business District of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. It was the first legal casino to open in the Australian Capital Territory, built on land excised from Glebe Park under a 99-year lease agreement between the casino licensee and the territory government. It is small in comparison with other casinos in Australia and does not incorporate any hotel accommodation, theatres, auditoriums or retail stores. It is the only casino in Australia not licensed to operate poker machines. There are 39 gaming tables where blackjack, roulette, baccarat and other games are played. The casino also has a poker lounge and sports lounge with TAB facilities.[1]
History[edit]
Following permission from the Federal Government to issue a casino licence and despite strong opposition from Dr Hector Kinloch of the Residents Rally, Casinos Austria International was selected by the ACT Government as the preferred operator on 31 January 1992. A subsidiary company, Casino Canberra Limited was formed for this purpose. In exchange for the licence, Casinos Austria paid $19 million up front for lease of the land and an annual $500,000 licensing fee. A temporary casino began operation on 14 November 1992 at the National Convention Centre. The permanent casino opened on 29 July 1994. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke and the ACT Chief Minister Rosemary Follett were among the guests at the large opening party hosted by Dr Leo Walner, then head of Casinos Austria. Bob Hawke was the winner of the golden roulette ball that was used for the first spin of the roulette wheel in the temporary casino.
The Aquis Group controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung acquired the casino in 2014.[2]
Licence restrictions[edit]
Casino Canberra holds the only licence to operate gambling tables in the Australian Capital Territory. Unlike other Australian casinos, it cannot operate poker machines. The casino has previously tried unsuccessfully to lobby the territory government to remove restrictions that prevent it from installing poker machines. These attempts have failed, in part due to concerns from Canberra's clubs, which fear loss of revenue from their own poker machines. Amendments to the Casino Control Act (2006) which would allow the casino to operate poker machines have been unsuccessfully moved in the legislative assembly on two occasions. In March 2013, it was reported by The Canberra Times, amid concerns about its ongoing viability, that the casino was willing to hand back land to the government that would allow the National Convention Centre to be expanded, and pay upfront fees in exchange for licensing rights for 200 machines.[3]
In May 2016, following submission of a proposal to massively redevelop the Casino site in exchange for the right to possess 500 poker machine licences, an in-principal agreement was reached with the Chief Minister Andrew Barr. The agreement centred on the possible use of 200 poker machines but only after redevelopment had been completed and only if the poker machine licences were purchased from owners of existing machines under the poker machine cap.[4][5]
References[edit]
- ^'Casino Canberra's contribution to the ACT economy'(PDF). Ernst & Young. March 2006. Archived from the original(PDF) on 29 October 2013.
- ^Aquis acquires Canberra casino News. 23 December 2014
- ^Hannaford, Scott (10 March 2013). 'Casino land plan unlikely to pay out'. The Canberra Times.
- ^Times, The Canberra (6 May 2016). 'Barr cleverly steps around casino pokies ban'. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ^Lawson, Kirsten (10 May 2016). 'Canberra casino secures 200 poker machines'. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
External links[edit]
Casino Canberra is the only land based casino venue in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and is far smaller in comparison to all other brick and mortar casinos across Australia. It was opened in 1994 after construction began in 1992.
The 2016 Casino Canberra redevelopment
Having been labelled as “the worst casino” by the current Canberra casino manager Rhiannon Bach (who was poached from a major casino in Macau), the venue is undergoing a huge redevelopment at a cost of approximately $307 million – a renovation that has been said will attract 617,000 new visitors to the casino precinct a year, by 2030.
The redevelopment of the casino has been said to include:
- A ten-storey and five-star hotel
- Six-star luxury villas
- Seven new restaurants
- Nightclubs and bars
- A shopping mall
- A day spa
- A resort pool
Aquis Entertainment, owner of the casino, has stated that up to 338 full time jobs would be created in the new precinct.
At the end of 2015, Casino Canberra owned a license to operate 39 gaming tables that included games of roulette, blackjack, pontoon, baccarat, pai gow, poker (against the dealer), sic bo and the Money Wheel. It also owns a poker lounge (for multi player poker against other players) and a sports lounge with TAB betting facilities.
In early 2016, Casino Canberra acquired a licence to operate up to 200 poker gaming machines (pokies machines), effectively breaking the Canberra clubs’ monopoly on poker gaming machines since the mid-1990s. The permission by the ACT government for the redeveloped casino venue to host up to 200 slots machines was met with harsh criticism from clubs and anti-gambling groups and campaigners.
Canberra Casino Poker Game
Roulette gaming at the Casino Canberra
Casino Canberra hosts both European (single zero) and American (double zero) variant roulette tables, boasting table betting minimum limits as low as $1 to $5.
It also boasts multi-terminal table games – electronic terminals that allow the player to choose from several live table games that are currently being operated in real time (including roulette, baccarat and sic bo). The player is presented with a live broadcast of the game, and a digital representation of the betting area. A clear countdown timer before the next round of play begins is also on display.
On the casino floor, there are also semi-automated rapid roulette games available to play – random number generated (RNG) roulette terminals.
Roulette tournaments at Casino Canberra
Casino Canberra also hosts regular roulette tournaments. These roulette tournaments are usually only open to Advantage members.
Advantage is the casino’s rewards program – membership is free and rewards players with points through gameplay, free parking, tournament entry, complimentary hotel accommodation and other exclusive offers.
The roulette tournament rules vary from tournaments to tournament, but the aim of all the competitions remain more or less the same – players receive a certain amount of tournament chips at the commencement of each round, and must bet wisely in order to try and build the largest profit margin, or risk being eliminated. Betting limits apply.
Canberra Casino Poker Slots
Casino Canberra is aiming to be evaluated at a much more distinguished level than previously before, by local, interstate and international tourists and critics.
New licenses for additional roulette tables, pokies machines, other gaming tables and the construction of a prestigious hotel, impressive villas, classy restaurants, nightclubs, bars, a shopping mall, a day spa and a swimming pool, will pave the way for this brick and mortar casino to be considered as a true competitor within the global casino industry, and an elite gaming venue.
Casino Poker Tips
Planning on playing roulette at Casino Canberra? We always recommend playing the European version of the game, whether that be at gaming tables or on electronic gaming machines. Single zero roulette boasts a 2.7 per cent house edge compared to its double zero roulette counterpart (American) which boasts a house edge at 5.26 per cent.