Hippodrome Casino

The Hippodrome is London's most extraordinary casino venue – not merely because of its scale but because of its history. The building opened in 1900 as a circus and variety theatre designed by the legendary Frank Matcham, complete with a 100,000-gallon water tank, a retractable glass roof, and an arena that could accommodate performing elephants. The scale of Victorian ambition on show is breathtaking even today.

After decades as a theatre and nightclub, father and son team Jimmy and Simon Thomas acquired the site and undertook a meticulous restoration of all of Matcham's original features, converting it into the UK's most-visited entertainment casino across five spectacular floors. The Grade II listing is entirely deserved.

The different seating tiers of the old theatre now host different gaming experiences, from table games to electronic terminals to a dedicated poker room. The venue requires no membership and operates an accessible dress code, making it the natural first stop for anyone visiting London who wants to experience casino gaming at its most theatrical. There is genuinely nothing else like it in the country.