The Clermont Club

The-Clermont-ClubThe Clermont Club, Mayfair, is one of the most elegant gambling establishments in the world, once a favourite retreat for Ian Fleming, the Duke of Devonshire and Lord Lucan. Today, the club operates a strict policy that requires players to apply for membership 24 hours before visiting, but its management wasn’t always so diligent.

In fact, the club’s first owner, John Aspinoll, teamed up with some of London’s most notorious gangland figures – including one Mr Billy Hill, who was fond of carving a V into his victim’s faces with a razor – to take his patrons for vast sums of money with a scam known as The Big Edge.

They ran the Clermont’s decks through a machine that fractionally bent the cards to denote their value, then wrapped them back in their cellophane and delivered them to the club. Readers were trained to interpret these tiny bends, and the house’s advantage increased to a 60:40 percent edge.

Over a few months this added up to millions. One of the gangsters involved described the scam as ‘like robbing Fort Knox and the Bank of England at the same time – just a lot easier.”

Posted in Casino, Casino Stories | Leave a comment

Astronomical Odds

The fad for novelty bets was born when a Mr David Threfall predicted at 1000/1 that a man would walk on the moon by January 1, 1970.

David was over the moon with his £10,000 pay out – until he died crashing the sports car he’d bought with the winnings.

William Hill now take a bet a month that David shouldn’t have been paid at all: they’re giving odds at 500/1 that the moon landings were a Cold War hoax.

Posted in Casino, Casino Stories | Leave a comment

Swim when you’re winning

Amongst the passengers aboard the Titanic was Mr Piers Mason, a charismatic conman who’d bought passage with the sole intention of relieving the ship’s wealthy patrons of their fortunes.

He had a $50,000 stake and no idea how he was going to pull it off until, whilst losing $10,000 at cards, he overheard talk of two grandmasters on their way to a prestigious chess tournament.

Mason offered to bet his remaining $40,000 that his companion, Isabel, could play both grandmasters at once and gain a stalemate with at least one of them.

An admiral, thinking him one iceberg short of a disaster, accepted the bet; Mason’s only proviso was that spectators would watch just one game in case they disturb Isabel’s concentration.

A large crowd gathered to watch the madman’s fiancée lose abysmally, but she dashed between tables, countering every move until, after hours of play and mounting humiliation, one of the grandmasters offered a draw.

Mason’s ploy had the simplicity of true genius: when one grandmaster made a move, Isabel duplicated it on the other board, pitting the two grandmasters against each other. Even true genius couldn’t save Mason, however: he died clinging to a raft in icy waters.

Posted in Casino, Casino Stories | Leave a comment

SuperCasino Bonus: The Next Best Thing to a Money Tree?

Super-Casino BonusThere are times when we all wish that we had that elusive money tree growing in the back garden – yet there are ways to boost your cash supplies with no wishing or watering involved.

SuperCasino offers a first deposit bonus of up to £200 to welcome new players, matching pound for pound 100 per cent of any first cash deposit. Fantastic, you may be thinking, but SuperCasino doesn’t stop the windfalls there. It will also match 100 per cent of any second deposit, up to £200, and 50 per cent of a third deposit. This gives new SuperCasino players an amazing boost to their casino kitty which means that they can play more games and potentially earn more winnings.

Whatever a player’s game of choice, SuperCasino has an authentic casino experience to suit. Card games such as Blackjack and Poker are popular with those who prefer the more serious casino games; while those just looking for a spot of easy to play fun will enjoy the range of colourful, themed arcade games available to play at SuperCasino.com.

However, while SuperCasino.com offers a wide variety of card, table and arcade games, its speciality is roulette. Offering live roulette, both televised and streamed online, for that authentic ‘as it happens’ casino experience, SuperCasino prides itself on offering the best live roulette experience possible.

SuperCasino fans can enjoy the interactivity of playing live televised roulette games hosted by friendly, professionally trained presenters and croupiers, when they tune in to Channel Five every night or Sky Channel 866 every afternoon. These games are also streamed live to the internet, so they can be played either online or by phone for ultimate flexibility.

Other roulette games are also offered where a handcrafted, automated roulette wheel is used, so that players can still get that live, authentic experience, whether they choose to play presented roulette or not.

For the ultimate in modern convenience Live Roulette and Roulette Express Premium can even be downloaded as mobile applications that can be played on the go.

Roulette is a popular casino game as it’s simple to understand, easy to play and offers a flexibility of stake. It’s also a real casino classic and that heavy wheel is associated with a genuine casino experience.

The generous SuperCasino welcome bonus means that roulette fans can enjoy many more roulette games for their money. Or alternatively, they could mix it up and try out a variety of other casino games with the casino bonus. Arcade games are great for when easy play escapism is needed, whereas involving card games are just the ticket for when the brain needs a bit of a workout.

While SuperCasino can’t promise anyone a windfall, it can offer fantastic value for money with not one but two amazing ‘double your money’ welcome bonuses for extra gaming fun and a better chance of winning. Mythical money tree seeds not required!

Posted in Bonus, Casino, SuperCasino | 1 Comment

Stake Sandwich

Stake-Sandwich

Shakespear

During a 24 hour stint at the gaming tables of The Shakespeare’s Head in 1762, The Earl of Sandwich finally succumbed to hunger pangs but, unwilling to leave the table, asked staff for “a piece of meat between two bits of bread”. His fellow gamblers followed suit, and the sandwich was born.

Lunchtimes just wouldn’t be the same without a game of cards.

Posted in Casino, Casino Stories | 4 Comments