We explore the evolution of Mayfair's rich casino history

With a total of twenty eight casinos in and around central London and new ones appearing in out-of-town areas, it's easy to forget these days that the hub of London's casino scene remains around the exclusive Mayfair district.

Situated directly east of Park Lane this area first makes its mark on the psyche of the average UK citizen when they encounter it as the premium destination on the Monopoly board, but over the years it's retained its cache and looks unlikely to ever go out of favour thanks to an enviable position immediately adjacent to Hyde Park, the western end of Oxford Street and Buckingham Palace.

Factor in the close proximity of St James's with its world-class clutch of gentleman's clubs hailing from a bygone and much-missed era and the appeal of the area becomes immediately clear – but is Mayfair where it all started?

The answer is in fact a resounding 'No'. Exclusive gambling venues began operating in Mayfair around two hundred years ago, but prior to that the action was situated elsewhere – which is hardly surprising when you consider that gambling can be traced back to over two thousand years ago when the UK capital looked rather different.

Roman beginnings

A quick look at London around the time of the Romans shows that the city walls didn't extend any further westwards than the area now occupied by St Pauls Cathedral, so the area now designated as Mayfair would have been little more than fields back then. Roman legions, like soldiers throughout the ages, had a predilection for gambling and played a dice and board game called Duodecim Scriptorum (literal translation Twelve Writer).

This game evolved into a similar game named Tabula, which was the forerunner of modern Backgammon. Given the latter's unimpeachable popularity to this very day some serious credit has to be given to the Romans for coming up with it. Quite how many versions they got through before settling on the game we all know and love will never be truly known, but even the Tabula board is remarkably similar to the Backgammon board of today and clearly needed only a small amount of fine tuning.

So: Next time you watch Monty Python's Life of Brian and discover what agricultural, mechanical, domestic and political ideas the Romans bestowed upon us, remind yourself that there's at least one crucial cultural phenomenon that they forgot – and don't underestimate its importance. Backgammon may not be something you'd expect to see in a West End casino nowadays but it is played for money in private rooms and a high level of proficiency is viewed as a very classy feather in any gamer's cap.

The key attraction for Roman soldiers and anyone else who played was the idea of a race. A duel to the finishing line is something that enthrals the betting public to this very day and it's not hard to see the immediate, competitive, primeval thrill generated by such one-on-one contests. It's what attracts viewers and gamblers to sports like drag racing and pursuit cycling today, and is never about to go out of fashion.

Interestingly, to the Romans gambling was viewed as a metaphor for life, which was probably why it was viewed as entertainment rather than a potential addiction. Quite which aspect of life it was meant to parallel isn't known, but it's safe to assume that they were referring to the role that luck plays in all aspects of our lives. If this seems somewhat glib, it's worth remembering that this was a dynasty that thought nothing of capturing slaves and forcing them to fight lions whilst the great and the good watched them get devoured for their own entertainment. Perhaps if the citizens responsible for putting them there were to face the same fate upon the roll of a die they'd have looked at the situation rather differently, though in all fairness they did turn up in the UK and build roads that we still use today - so they were clearly getting something right.

The Middle Ages

So what came next? Namely the Middle Ages, the demise of the Roman Empire (but not Backgammon, obviously), the Anglo Saxons, Viking attacks and William the Conqueror. That's a considerable amount of military staff who can't have been up to their necks in bloodshed 24/7, so what did they do for entertainment? Weirdly enough, more bloodshed, this time jousting – which became so popular among both participants and the wagering public that it had to be banned by Henry II.

The King wasn't too bothered about his populace descending into a jousting-driven spiral of addictive gambling depravity – all he was worried about was losing large numbers of talented front line military staff in frivolous entertainment tournaments, though we suspect that most of the participants were quite relieved not to have to take part any more as well – we're not talking about It's a Knockout, after all.

Moving forward to the Thirteenth Century, soldiers coming back from The Crusades didn't bring back any souvenirs – they were lucky to return with all four limbs – but they did bring back a dice game called Hazard. This spread around London and then the rest of the British Isles like wildfire, over to France and thence to America where it eventually developed into the Craps game played all over the Western world today.

It's hard to believe that a game so ingrained in American culture actually began in the Middle East, but a good idea is a good idea no matter where it's happening, and although many players find Craps a little intimidating there are still some central London casinos that offer it. Whilst it's unlikely any of the participants will be aware of its origins, they probably will know that it offers the best odds against the house in any casino – and that it's brilliant fun and generates more excitement than any other casino game.

Going back to the 14th and 15th centuries, however, things took a step backwards for while with coin flipping becoming highly popular. Perhaps the much-derided concept of Dumbing Down was already starting to rear its ugly head; maybe there simply weren't enough dice to go round, or perhaps people just liked playing a game where the rules couldn't be misinterpreted.

In all fairness, other types of gambling were also taking hold of London at the same time. Quoits - a type of ring tossing game still played on cruise ships today – was bet on, as was every kind of competitive sport like archery. More significantly, it was around this time that playing cards started to make an appearance.

Poker makes an appearance

Fast forward to the middle of the second millennium and Henry VIII was in power, faced with a serious gambling epidemic. Board games like Queek (similar to draughts) and Fox and Geese (a pursuit game) were wildly popular, but the crack cocaine of gambling in the UK capital circa 1,500 AD was Three Card Brag.

Every schoolboy knows about this game, yet most are probably gleefully unaware of how old it is as they rush off to the back of the field at break to get their regular fix. It's the forerunner to poker - hence its popularity - and the rules are beguilingly simple, essentially following the betting round structure that's used today in Texas Hold 'Em and other popular variants.

The appeal is easy to understand: Betting rounds based on ranking hands are a great way to suck players into a round and force them to quit or commit more, resulting in exceptional fluctuations in fortune which always means more excitement.

This type of game is also not far off the kind of table poker seen in modern casinos today, though these are played against the house and the betting round structure is avoided which makes each game far less risky in isolation.

Being the kind of guy who thought nothing of executing his wives after they upset him, the most notorious of the royal Henrys (arguably with the exception of the present day Harry Wales) had no qualms about banning gambling in his own army, whilst simultaneously permitting it at court. When you're dealing with a man who presided over 72,000-plus executions, however, it's probably not a good idea to point out any evidence of hypocrisy, so London society continued to enjoy unfettered access to numerous gambling dens and wagers were even made on whether Anne Boleyn – on trial with her brother for treason and incest – would be acquitted. Odds, thankfully for the bookmakers of the time, were 10 to 1 - and we all know the ultimate outcome.

When Edward VI took over, dice and gambling games were legalised, though the clergy were not permitted to join in the fun and everything stayed fairly constant until the arrival of one Mr Cromwell, who – unsurprisingly – banned all horseracing, cockfighting and gambling dens in London and across the UK.

With the restoration of the Monarchy, however, came a new broom and Charles II even had his own croupier. Such was the new king's dislike for the hated Cromwell that he dug up his body and put it on trial – and needless to say he was found guilty. Guilty of exactly what is neither here nor there – one thing he certainly didn't like was people enjoying themselves and even if you fervently believe that legalisation of gambling will lead to endless moral and spiritual decline there's no escaping the fact that Cromwell was an absolute misery. He banned Christmas and all sports along with gambling, and it's hard to imagine a life without the former two even if you aren't the life and soul of every Yuletide gathering you go to or a die-hard football fan.

The monarchy leads the way with a huge resurgence in gambling

Under King Charles Sir Thomas Neale was put in charge of ensuring all gambling dens met with existing legislation and closing down any that were deemed to be improperly run. In other words, he was London's – and quite possibly the world's - first gaming regulator. He was deemed to have done such an excellent job that London's King Street was re-named Neale Street in his honour, as was the delightful Neale's Yard in today's Covent Garden.

Charles wasn't just pro-gambling: He loved it. He had a particular fondness for racing horses at Newmarket in contests that still exist today, re-established horse racing throughout the country and even wrote the rules – and that's why to this day it's known as the 'Sport of Kings'. Needless to say once the king had got behind gambling the rest of London society followed, and what happened behind closed doors at Hampton Court became commonplace all over town.

People now even started to place bets on sports and pub games, making the activity so popular that Charles is often known as the 'Father of Gambling' due to his passion.

All interests that generate any level of controversy, though, have a habit of going in and out of fashion, subject to the whims of the political elite of the day – and by the 19th century gambling had inextricably become linked with alcoholism and prostitution. The upper echelons of society still wanted to play but unlike today the gambling dens on offer to Mr or Ms Average offered a very different experience from that on offer to the wealthy and titled - and there was no better example of the top end of the market than the infamous Crockfords.

Crockfords: Still the UK's most notorious casino

Known for its lavishness and opulence, this club still exists today under Genting's ownership. William Crockford employed renowned architects Benjamin and Philip Wyatt to construct London's most extravagant entertainment venue inside leased premises at 50 St James Street. South of Piccadilly this was not technically Mayfair, but in an area as upmarket as Westminster it's close enough.

Crockfords' original incarnation primarily had the air of a gentleman's club – and being right in the heart of clubland that made perfect sense. It could be raucous and somewhat raffish, but such was the social standing of even the most badly-behaved members that it only seemed to enhance the reputation of the place.

Ironically, though, Crockford himself wasn't one of the gang: The son of a fish merchant, he was extraordinarily good with probability and quickly worked out how to gain an edge at gambling in an era when regulation was less strict and there were loopholes that could be exploited. Crockford quickly made a large amount of cash and then turned the tables, opening his club knowing full well that he'd always have a statistical advantage over his clients.

Crockfords closed in 1845 and reopened exactly 100 years after it was launched. In 1928 the club unlocked its doors again, primarily as a venue to host bridge players - though Chemin de Fer, Roulette and Blackjack followed. It's now located at 30 Curzon Street, and if you don't want to attend in person you can gain access via Genting's online casino.

After Crockfords the West End casino industry's next shot in the arm was the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act. This was introduced to combat a growing underground betting industry that was avoiding tax and causing serious levels of criminal activity in the capital and throughout the UK.

Instead of being run exclusively by gangs the industry gained respectability and allowed gambling for small sums on games of skill like bridge. From 1961 betting shops started opening and until 1965 local magistrates issued over 16,000 licences.

The Aspinall years

The biggest Mayfair name associated with this era was the infamous Clermont Club. Owner John Aspinall was born in Delhi during the British Raj era and cultivated a stereotypical casino player image in his early years, getting expelled from Rugby School for inattention, and then skipping his final exams at Oxford to attend the Gold Cup at Ascot - forfeiting his degree.

He then opened a bookmaker shop in the late 1950s, prior to the introduction of legal casino gambling, and attended illegal parties between going to the races – where he discovered that Chemin de Fer games were actually permitted and that the house could take a 5% rake, subject to rules on frequency. He then set up private parties of his own and provided the premises were never used more than three times for gambling the law was not broken.

His success with this venture actually led to the 1960 Act and he had to find other avenues to pursue his ambitions, setting up the Clermont Club in Mayfair in 1962. Original members included five dukes, five marquesses, twenty earls and two cabinet ministers. Overheads were higher than before and Aspinall looked for ways to cheat players, leading to the Big Edge scandal. Cards were bent using a roller and then repackaged, giving dealers a clue as to the nature of each card and dramatically improving the house edge.

Aspinall was a charismatic individual, owning the legendary Howletts Zoo, living a dangerous and exuberant life and allegedly enjoying a friendship with Lord Lucan. His name is synonymous with high rolling, carefree, reckless enjoyment, which is no doubt why his nickname – Aspers – is used today for the casino chain of the same name with outlets in London and around the UK.

Nowadays the original club site is still prospering too, with a second club – simply named Aspinalls – run by son Damian Aspinall in Mayfair premises purchased in 1992. In May 2011 that club joined the prestigious Crown Resorts Group and is now called Crown Aspinalls London, still catering for the capital's elite.

The other big name in London's West End in the 1960s wasn't in Mayfair but in nearby Knightsbridge – and it acquired its legendary status thanks to the Kray twins.

Gaming goes upmarket – and so do the Krays

Esmeralda's Barn was around in the 50's operating as a conventional nightclub – and owner Stefan de Faye installed gaming tables after 1960. It was initially felt that the Act would drive criminals out of the gambling industry, but instead it merely allowed them to expand their empires illegally. The Krays were rumoured to have been offered the club by infamous landlord Peter Rachman to stop them pursuing him for extortion proceeds, and they used it as a front for various sordid activities as well as a stage for aspiring movie fan Reggie Kray to establish himself as a celebrity.

Casino goers in the West End these days get a far more sanitised experience. Just as large corporations have pushed out the gangsters from Vegas, London's gaming scene has been taken over by weightier business interests - though the current crop of venues in Mayfair today remain diverse and exclusive. Apart from Crown Aspinall's and The Clermont there are four other essential places to try:

The Ritz Club is sited in the famous Ritz hotel on Piccadilly, and offers a no-holds barred luxury experience for those that can afford it. They'll happily bring you to the hotel and drop you off by limo, accommodate, wine and dine you to the highest possible standards and offer you access to their stunning main gaming salon. This is sited in the former ballroom which features a magnificent ceiling under which one of the most elegant rooms in London creates an atmosphere perfect with a contemporary approach to gaming. It's open to all guests staying at the hotel and you can enjoy American Roulette, Punto Banco, Blackjack and Three Card Poker all day, every day.

If this isn't exclusive enough for you there are various discreet salles privee as well – with a fully personalised service for that extra-special gaming experience of a lifetime.

Other alternatives are the Palm Beach, Maxims or The Colony Club. These are all owned by Genting along with Crockfords, and offer a variety of plush environments in which you can enjoy Roulette, table poker, Blackjack and Baccarat along with electronic Roulette and slots.

Finally, the wonderful Les Ambassadeurs is not to be missed. It's got a fantastic view over Hyde Park and one of the salles privee even has its own private dining room. Enough said, really.

With half a dozen high end casinos in an area approximately one square mile in size, Mayfair still seems to have it sewn up at the upper end of the market. Newer casinos like Aspers Stratford and the Hippodrome may have the lion's share of the market - but to rub shoulders with the A-Listers make sure you keep heading west until you hit Hyde Park Corner or Marble Arch. From there you're looking at no more than a ten minute walk at the most – though you'll most likely want to roll up in a taxi at the very least...

How did the Gaming Industry evolve in London's West End?

With a total of twenty eight casinos in and around central London and new ones appearing in out-of-town areas, it's easy to forget these days that the hub of London's casino scene remains around the exclusive Mayfair district.

Situated directly east of Park Lane this area first makes its mark on the psyche of the average UK citizen via the Monopoly board, on which Mayfair is the ultimate real estate goal. It's expensive, it's sophisticated and it's exclusive.

Factor in the close proximity of St James's with its world-class clutch of gentleman's clubs hailing back as far as the late 17th Century and it starts to make sense that people flock to this square mile of London to experience a level of play that they simply can't get anywhere else.

Does this mean that the West End of London is the only place in the capital with any kind of gaming history?

The answer is in fact a resounding 'No'. Exclusive gambling venues began operating in Mayfair around the 1820s, yet long before then high-stakes gambling was going on for hundreds, and even thousands of years.

Roman beginnings

A quick look at London around the time of the Romans shows that the city walls didn't extend any further west than modern day Ludgate Circus, but this didn't stop Roman soldiers from having a flutter on what was essentially a game of Ludo.

This game evolved into a similar game named Tabula, which was the forerunner of modern Backgammon. It's played on a board with twenty four points, with two players moving fifteen pieces each according to the roll of three dice.

So: Next time you watch Monty Python's Life of Brian and discover what agricultural, mechanical, domestic and educational wonders the Romans actually did for us, remember they also provided the framework for a game that we still enjoy today.

The key attraction for Roman soldiers and anyone else who played was the idea of a race. A duel to get home first, with the dice rolls either speeding up your progress or allowing your opponent to 'hit' your pieces and force you to start again.

Interestingly, to the Romans gambling was viewed as a metaphor for life. Quite which aspect of life they don't say, though given that most Romans didn't survive past their mid-twenties, perhaps it was the extreme speed and risk of it all that hit home most.

The Middle Ages

So what came next? Namely the Middle Ages, the demise of the Roman Empire (but not Backgammon, obviously) and the rule of Richard the Lionheart.

The King wasn't too bothered about his populace descending into a jousting-driven spiral of addiction. He was, however, worried about his knights: Specifically that they would spend too much time playing dice and not enough time sharpening their swords. He subsequently introduced the first ever gambling law in 1190, restricting high stakes games to himself and his knights.

Moving forward to the Thirteenth Century, soldiers coming back from The Crusades didn't bring back just gold and scars: They also brought back a game called 'Hazard', which we now know as Craps.

It's hard to believe that a game so ingrained in American culture actually began in the Middle East over eight hundred years ago, yet this dice game's popularity exploded in London throughout the 13th Century.

Going back to the 14th and 15th centuries, however, things took a step backwards for while with coinage and board games essentially banned as the government tried to force its population to concentrate on more worthwhile pursuits like archery.

In all fairness, other types of gambling were also taking hold of London at the same time. Quoits - where players throw metal rings over a spike - and Gleeek, a popular card game of the time, were keeping the betting public happy.

Poker makes an appearance

Fast forward to the middle of the second millennium and Henry VIII was in power, faced with a serious French invasion threat and a populace that would rather play a game called 'Brag' than go to war.

Every schoolboy knows about this game, yet most are probably gleefully unaware of how old it is as a precursor to modern Poker. Using a deck of 32 cards, Brag is all about 'The Three' – the highest possible hand – and the fine art of bluffing.

The appeal is easy to understand: Betting rounds based on ranking hands are a great way to suck players into a game and generate some high octane drama.

This type of game is also not far off the kind of table poker seen in modern casinos today, though clearly things have become a lot more sophisticated over the following five hundred years.

Being the kind of guy who thought nothing of executing his wives after they upset him, the most notable thing about Henry VIII's attitude to gambling was his hypocrisy. He banned his subjects from playing games of chance but spent hours playing cards and dice himself, losing thousands of pounds in the process.

When Edward VI took over, dice and gambling games were legalised, though the clergy were not permitted to play. This period also saw the first national lottery in 1569, which was a huge success and helped fund several major public works.

With the restoration of the Monarchy, however, came a new broom and Charles II even had his own crown-appointed 'Groom Porter' whose job was to supervise and regulate all games of cards and dice within the Royal court.

The monarchy leads the way with a huge resurgence in gambling

King Charles Sir Thomas Neale was put in charge of ensuring all gambling dens met with existing legislation, as well as keeping a keen eye on the King's own personal betting activities.

Charles wasn't just pro-gambling: He loved it. He had a particular fondness for racing horses at Newmarket and even entered several races himself. This royal endorsement led to a huge resurgence in gambling across all social classes.

People now even started to place bets on sports and pub games, making the activity so popular that the government eventually had to step in and try to regulate it through the Gaming Act of 1710.

All interests that generate any level of controversy, though, have a habit of going in and out of fashion. By the early 19th Century, the government was again trying to crack down on gambling houses, though they were largely unsuccessful in Mayfair.

Crockfords: Still the UK's most notorious casino

Known for its lavishness and opulence, this club still exists today under Genting's ownership. William Crockford, a former fishmonger, opened it in 1828 and it quickly became the talk of the town.

Crockfords' original incarnation primarily had the air of a gentleman's club – and being right in the heart of St James's, it attracted the wealthiest and most influential men in the country.

Ironically, though, Crockford himself wasn't one of the gang: The son of a fish merchant, he was extraordinarily good with probability and quickly worked out how to gain an edge at gambling in an era when regulation was less strict and there were loopholes that could be exploited. Crockford quickly made a large amount of cash and then turned the tables, opening his club knowing full well that he'd always have a statistical advantage over his clients.

Crockfords casino closed in 1845 and reopened exactly 100 years after it was launched. In 1928 the club unlocked its doors again, primarily as a venue to host bridge players - though Chemin de Fer, Roulette and Blackjack followed. It's now located at 30 Curzon Street, and if you don't want to attend in person you can gain access via Genting's online casino.

After Crockfords the West End casino industry's next shot in the arm was the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act. This was introduced to combat a growing underground betting industry that was avoiding tax and causing serious levels of criminal activity in the capital and throughout the UK.

Instead of being run exclusively by gangs the industry gained respectability and allowed gambling for small sums on games of skill like bridge. From 1961 betting shops started opening and until 1965 local magistrates issued over 16,000 licences.

The Aspinall years

The biggest Mayfair name associated with this era was the infamous Clermont Club. Owner John Aspinall was born in Delhi during the British Raj era and cultivated a stereotypical casino player image in his early years, getting expelled from Rugby School for inattention, and then skipping his final exams at Oxford to attend the Gold Cup at Ascot - forfeiting his degree.

He then opened a bookmaker shop in the late 1950s, prior to the introduction of legal casino gambling, and attended illegal parties between going to the races – where he discovered that Chemin de Fer games were actually permitted and that the house could take a 5% rake, subject to rules on frequency. He then set up private parties of his own and provided the premises were never used more than three times for gambling the law was not broken.

His success with this venture actually led to the 1960 Act and he had to find other avenues to pursue his passion. In 1962 he opened the Clermont Club in Berkeley Square, which became a magnet for the rich and famous.

Aspinall was a charismatic individual, owning the legendary Howletts Zoo, living a dangerous and exotic life that only served to increase the appeal of his gaming establishments.

Nowadays the original club site is still prospering too, with a second club – simply named Aspinalls – located on Curzon Street and continuing to attract a high-end clientele.

The other big name in London's West End in the 1960s wasn't in Mayfair but in nearby Knightsbridge and it had a far more sinister reputation.

Gaming goes upmarket – and so do the Krays

Esmeralda's Barn was around in the 50's operating as a conventional nightclub – and owner Stefan de Faye soon realised that the real money was in gaming. He turned the venue into a casino and it became so successful that it attracted the attention of the Kray twins, who eventually took over the business.

Casino goers in the West End these days get a far more sanitised experience. Just as large corporations have taken over much of the hospitality industry, so too have they dominated the London gaming scene.

The Ritz Club is sited in the famous Ritz hotel on Piccadilly, and offers a no-holds barred luxury experience that remains one of the most exclusive in the world.

If this isn't exclusive enough for you there are various discreet salles privee as well – with a full range of games from American Roulette and Blackjack to Baccarat and Three Card Poker.

Other alternatives are the Palm Beach, Maxims or The Colony Club. These are all owned by Genting along with Crockfords, but each has its own distinct personality and target demographic.

Finally, the wonderful Les Ambassadeurs is not to be missed. It's got a fantastic view over Hyde Park and its own private garden, making it a truly unique place to play.

With half a dozen high end casinos in an area approximately one square mile in size, Mayfair still wears its crown as the premier gambling district in London – and based on its long and colourful history, that doesn't look set to change any time soon.

With a total of twenty eight casinos currently on offer for Londoners wanting live table games there's never been more choice in the UK capital for those wanting a properly regulated environment with all the trimmings.

To save you the bother of visiting any casinos that we think are slightly derivative or lacking some essential London ingredient we've compiled our list of the best ten. Each one is worth a visit, and we'd advise you not to visit anywhere that gives you less than a 100% complete experience.

1. Aspers Stratford

This casino gets its place on our list for a number of reasons, with one overarching criteria that's beyond dispute – and that's its size.

Aspers Casino Westfield Stratford City – to give it its full title - is the biggest casino in Britain, built inside the biggest "in-town" shopping centre in Europe – and apart from Christmas Day it never closes. The statistics of this place are extraordinary by British standards and make it the closest thing you'll find in the country to a true Vegas casino hotel.

Admittedly there's no actual accommodation, no historically-inaccurate OTT theming and no unsavoury characters hanging around. There's also nobody asking you to lend them five dollars that you'll get back with interest when their fantastic, unbeatable new system pays off. There is, though, an impressive shopping centre to enjoy along with some great food – and the nearby Arcelor Mittel Orbit tunnel slide in the adjacent Olympic park is the world's longest and fastest, making it a match for the raft of superlatives hurled at you whenever you go to Nevada.

There's 65,000 square feet of gaming here, which plays host to 40 Roulette and Blackjack tables, 92 electronic terminals, a 150 seat poker room, two bars – one with a giant screen and betting facilities - and 150 slot games. On top of all this there's also a restaurant which describes itself as "fast casual", which presumably means there's no strict dress code and you'll get served quickly.

Aspers is the nickname given to the infamous John Aspinall who started up the legendary Clermont Casino in the 1960s, leading a life that was colourful to say the least. His son Damian is part of a team working under the Crown Aspinall banner after the business was bought out by Crown Resorts, and whilst the full family name is still used for the original club in Mayfair there are now four sites operating under the Aspers brand.

These casinos represent a newer, more relaxed approach with no membership cards required and very informal dress codes. Just like Vegas you can simply walk straight in, an approach representative of a very different target market to the well-heeled folk that frequent the casinos further to the West side of town. Aspers Stratford is aimed at the mass market, catering for large crowds and there's nothing else quite like it in the UK. At first glance it looks like a bit of a trek from the very centre of town, but between them the Central Line and the excellent Docklands Light Railway make short work of the journey and the complex is right outside the station, making it incredibly easy to get to on public transport in all types of weather.

2. The Grosvenor Victoria

Affectionately known as The Vic, this is where poker gods from the UK and overseas congregate to out-think one another and win small fortunes using nothing but their memory and intelligence. The likes of Phil Ivey and Only Connect presenter Victoria Coren (ex-European Women's Texas Hold 'Em Champion) like to play here as do plenty of other big names, though you'll find them upstairs.

On the main gaming floor it's a different story, with three Roulette tables, two Blackjack tables and a Three Card Poker table competing with 32 Electronic Roulette terminals, 20 progressive jackpot slots and a Craps table.

The latter is becoming increasingly hard to find even in London, and it's up to the likes of The Vic to ensure that it doesn't die out in the UK – which would be a terrible shame. The game has a reputation for complexity which is unfair, though understandable when you watch it for the first time. It's also very labour intensive and will cost the casino quite a bit of money compared to other games, so anywhere that offers it is well worth a visit in our opinion.

The Vic has a bar, function rooms, coffee shop and a restaurant featuring an Arabic menu - perhaps a reflection of the wealthy clientele that live locally or maybe just a whim on behalf of the operator; either way the dishes are impressive and the table d'hote comes up as surprisingly affordable.

This casino is Grosvenor's flagship UK site, though if you want to find it don't go to the Victoria area or tube stop; the casino is actually located in Marylebone just off the Edgware Road - nearest stop Edgware Road or Marble Arch.

3. The Hippodrome

This place is nothing short of extraordinary. You may have seen it but were unaware that it's the largest casino in the UK - if you factor in the size of the original building it's housed in.

The building originally opened in 1900 and was designed by Frank Matcham for Moss Empires (as in theatre chain Stoll Moss). It cost £250,000 and was intended for circus and variety entertainment – and it really was a quite a facility with entrance granted through a bar made to look like a ship's saloon, and a performance space featuring an arena that sank into a 230 foot, 100,000 gallon water tank.

The tank had fountains around its edge and in its centre, and shows included equestrian acts, elephants, polar bears and acrobats diving in from a minstrel gallery via a space revealed by a sliding roof.

The seating tiers used cantilevering to avoid the use of posts that obscured the view towards the stage, and as if this wasn't enough the entire venue was covered by a glass retractable roof – making the modern day Wembley Stadium look considerably less high tech than it's perceived by most to be.

The Hippodrome was converted into a more standard type of theatre facility later on and operated in a similar manner to all its neighbouring stage venues until 1958, at which point it was converted into The Talk of the Town, a nightclub-style venue that was frequented by some huge stars including Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Dusty Springfield, Stevie Wonder and Neil Sedaka.

Come the 1980s this entertainment format seemed to lose its appeal and the venue was sold again, and at this point things went south for The Hippodrome. It was bought up by club owner, celebrity and self-promoting lothario Peter Stringfellow and turned into a nightclub. The majority of the theatre space was not used, with the lower area covered over with a false roof and it looked like the auditorium would never house any spectators again. However it changed hands a couple more times father and son team Jimmy and Simon Thomas acquired the site and restored all of Matcham's original period features whilst turning it into the UKs largest casino.

The result is extraordinary: As soon as you enter you can clearly tell that it used to be a theatre, but the different seating tiers are now home to various different table games, video terminals, a poker deck, smoking, eating and drinking areas. It's an awe-inspiring and unique place to play and has a true everyman quality to it, requiring no membership and a minimal dress code.

If you visit one London casino it needs to be this one simply because the place looks so impressive. It's situated right next to Leicester Square tube station and right in the middle of Chinatown.

4. The Grosvenor Park Tower

If you've ever visited London then you've almost certainly seen this one. It's the iconic-looking large, round hotel on Knightsbridge just before you get to Hyde Park Corner with the casino added on at the bottom.

Drive in from Heathrow and it's possibly the most impressive thing you'll see after Harrods, and whilst their Victoria site is where the serious poker players go, this is undoubtedly the Grosvenor casino with the most visual appeal.

There's just something about the exterior that conjures up images of glamorous social climbers, highly successful dynamic businesspeople and well-heeled media moguls as opposed to gormless aristos with their wits blunted after a lifetime of inherited wealth.

As well as an impressive set of tables there are a couple of bars, live sports to bet on, progressive jackpot slots, a dedicated poker room and a restaurant with both Arabic and modern European cuisine.

5. Palm Beach Casino

One of several upscale Mayfair joints owned by the Malaysian-based Genting group, Palm Beach is situated in swanky Mayfair and therefore too posh to given the standard Genting branding. You won't find any of their trademark red and black decor or anything else to indicate the casino's ownership here – it's all surprisingly toned down, in fact.

Given this casino's name it's easy to think that it might be slightly garish inside – at least featuring a Hawaiian bar and some sort of blue sky backdrop - but this is Mayfair, not the Vegas Strip, and they don't do it like that here.

Instead you'll see lot of beige and brown decor, and even the gaming tables follow the same stylings. If you've got a huge hangover and are keen for some action at the tables we can't think of anywhere more soothing, though the presence of the impressive Berkeley Street Bar means you'll be back on the sauce as soon as the previous night's excesses have worn off - and given that it's open until 5am you'll have plenty of time to join in the fun.

6. The Sportsman

This award-winning casino is a stone's throw away from Marble Arch and very near the Grosvenor Victoria, but its origins couldn't be more different than those of its neighbour as it belongs to Caesars, whose legendary Vegas Palace remains one of the few first generation Vegas brands to successfully thrive and reinvent itself into the 21st century.

Caesars are also the only major operation on The Strip to have successfully transplanted their casino product onto the web, so it comes as no surprise to us that they've managed to rock up in London's West End and fit right in.

This place is open from 12 noon to 6am every day, and on top of an impressive collection of table games boasts an advantage that no-on else in town can bring you and that's a loyalty programme that includes discounted rates in their Vegas hotel.

You'll see more evidence of The Sportsman's heritage as you look more closely at their website: They offer Vegas-style packages where for £35 per person upwards you're given a three course meal, glass of Prosecco and free £5 gaming chip. Other packages are also available along with bespoke options like buffet dinners and Learn to Play evenings.

Don't just gamble whilst you're here: Do try the food as Head Chef Mahmud Zaman won Chef of the Year at the Asian Curry Awards 2015. Of all the casinos in London this is easily the one that attracts the most dining-only clients, and that tells you all you need to know. It underwent an impressive makeover in 2015 too, now offering a stunning bar, sumptuous decor and an enthralling atmosphere making it second to none on the West End food scene.

7. The Clermont Club

This is something for most of us to dream about and aspire to rather than experience on a regular basis, but it's great that mass consumerism and globalisation hasn't killed off places like The Clermont.

It's situated in Berkeley Square – a fashionable address even by Mayfair standards – and comes with a pedigree that includes being the only casino to ever have been owned by the naturalist, adventurer and high stakes gambler John Aspinall.

Aspinall was not the first person to offer gaming on the premises – it was used as a private club from the early 19th century so it has plenty of history behind it before he arrived. The building was erected by William Kent for Lady Isabella Finch, a member of the household of King George III.

Once Aspinall arrived The Clermont was used to fleece the wealthy and titled, primarily using slightly bent cards which was enough to gain a massive house edge – though these days visitors to the club get to enjoy properly-regulated games.

The history of the place, though, still oozes out of every fixture and fitting and of all the upscale gaming venues in London this is the one that makes you feel as though you're in a private house. There are portraits of various distinguished visitors hanging from the wall; there's a restaurant that will easily give the nearby Dorchester a run for its money both in terms of decor and cuisine, and even an opulently-covered smoking deck complete with Blackjack and Roulette tables. If that's not enough to satisfy you then the private rooms on offer serve as the icing on the cake.

Game-wise you'll find Roulette. Blackjack and Baccarat with some of the highest maximum stake values in Europe, though don't expect to see electronic roulette or slot machines anywhere. Although even some of the classiest casinos have caved in to commercial pressure and started installing terminals to boost their profits, the Clermont still remain a cut above. If you want the full James Bond experience in London, this is most certainly going to be where you'll find it. Put on your evening wear before coming here and you're guaranteed to fit in – and bring plenty of cash for drinks and tips.

8. Les Ambassadeurs Club

This one is very handy if you're staying in one of the Park Lane hotels. It's situated right between the Intercontinental and Four Seasons, and even has a main gaming room overlooking Hyde Park – which none of its illustrious Mayfair peer group can compete with.

This is the flagship site for London Clubs International, and it's housed in an impressive mansion complete with walled garden and al fresco restaurant. Membership is required, but for that you'll be treated like an oil sheikh round the clock. For the full experience we'd recommend the salle privee that comes with its own private dining room, or the smoking terrace.

You don't need to be a smoker to enjoy this environment – it's worth checking out for the sheer help you're given by the staff: There are heat lamps to keep you warm, several wall-mounted televisions, a shower room, plus a Cuban and pre-Castro cigar menu. There are six tables and a bar, and if you want more privacy they'll put up custom-made wooden partitions for you – handy if you're a celebrity who likes the occasional puff.

With so much luxury on tap it's easy to forget why people come here: There's Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and Three Card Poker on offer with 16 tables on the main floor, plus other facilities you won't find elsewhere, including – amazingly – a library. If you fancy some quiet contemplation between rounds then this might be up your street, though don't expect to find a copy of Beat the Dealer or Black Belt in Blackjack on the shelves.

9. Crockfords

This casino needs little introduction to both regulars on the London scene and online players as well. The enterprising William Crockford was not one of the in-crowd back in Regency London – but he was exceptionally and naturally gifted when it came to gambling, able to exploit loopholes that have nowadays been closed up.

He made enough to buy the club at 50 St James Place and then proceeded to exploit the aristocracy offering them top-notch cuisine, endless free drinks and quite blatantly rigging games using all kinds of sneaky tactics: He used decoy players to win huge sums in front of everyone and paid staff to gossip that the house was haemorrhaging cash to encourage large, ill-advised wagers - and there are even descendants of erstwhile wealthy family members around now who are able to accurately speculate how different their life would have been had their ancestors not played at Crockfords.

The club has moved from its original site and is now at nearby Curzon Street, owned by Malaysian gaming giant Genting – but still looks the part despite reinventing itself into a fully-equipped 21st century facility. There's plenty of Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and Three Card Poker on offer and we particularly like the tasteful beige and grey hues used on the betting surfaces, which blend in beautifully with the timeless yet contemporary decor used for the rooms themselves.

Genting may be the ultimate beneficiary of anything that's wagered and lost here, but they're no slouches when it comes to keeping the place looking great with absolutely no hint of corporate branding detectable or any indication that this isn't anything other than a fully-independent venue.

10. Casino at the Empire

The Empire Cinema at Leicester Square shares duties with the nearby Odeon for hosting film premieres, yet many people are unaware of the neighbouring casino sited where the Empire nightclub used to be.

Nestling among the bright lights, hustle and bustle of the capital's entertainment hub this was never going to be a shrinking violet among gaming venues, and the journey here is as vibrant as you'll get – but despite the glittery feel to the place it does deliver, thanks in no small part to the record five bars on offer and the superb Asian-fusion cuisine on offer.

With Chinatown immediately adjacent this should come as no surprise, yet the standard is still exceptionally high.

There are two gaming floors, and given that this is clearly anything but a discreet private members club you can expect the latest and greatest gaming technology as well as more traditional table games. Slots and electronic roulette are indeed widely-available on both floors, and there's a dedicated multiplayer poker area for those that like to outwit other players rather than try their luck against the house odds.

You'll find the expected Roulette, Blackjack, Punto Banco and Three Card Poker tables all present and correct, and if you ever want a break from gaming there's still a nightclub on the premises, and you can enjoy specially-laid on events like cocktail mixing classes.

Be under no illusions: London doesn't have a casino on every corner like Vegas or Macau, but it does offer a greater range with old school, high end, classically understated glamour only a short ride away from low spend, mass market operations that cater for the more casual player. In case of any doubt, all London casinos have websites that will fill you in on membership requirements and dress codes – and that will tell you exactly what sort of an experience you're going to get.

Beth Walker

We take a look back at one of London's most famous casinos

When William Crockford established his casino at 50 St James Place in the ever-fashionable London clubland he probably had no idea his enterprise would still be flourishing in the 21st century under Malaysian ownership - though we think he'd probably approve if he were to visit the club today.

Granted, it no longer stands on its original site - but it's only a stone's throw away across Piccadilly at Curzon Street in the heart of Mayfair and it's still mostly attracting the kind of clientele that Crockford liked to entertain, albeit minus most of the aristocratic element.

There are, however, some crucial operational differences. Back in the day, Crockford liked to cheat his customers.

Heads I win, tails you lose...

For a man coming from a relatively humble background he was an unlikely character to be laying on games for the landed gentry in Regency London, but the son of a fishmonger made good had a huge asset in that he was an expert gambler.

He had spent years honing his craft in the gambling dens of London and was extraordinarily good at probability, able to work out the odds on any given hand or spin of a wheel with remarkable accuracy. He was also, it has to be said, something of a rogue.

His first venture was a gaming house in Westminster, which he ran with a partner named Taylor. The pair of them made a considerable amount of money, though the methods they used to win were not always strictly above board.

The club at 50 St James was a different proposition entirely, however. This was a first-class establishment in every sense of the word, with the finest cuisine in London, the best wine cellar in the city and a gaming floor that put every other establishment in the capital to shame.

Crockford employed some of the best chefs in Europe, including the legendary Ude who had previously worked for Napoleon, and the menu was said to be the finest in London. The wine list was equally impressive, and members were offered every conceivable luxury.

But behind all this luxury lay the iron determination of a man who knew exactly what he was doing. The games were rigged in the house's favour, the cards were marked, and the croupiers were all in on it. Crockford was running a very successful con, and the aristocracy of Regency London were falling for it hook, line and sinker.

The fortune built on other men's losses

By the time he retired in 1840, Crockford had amassed a fortune of over £1.2 million – an extraordinary sum in those days. He bought a mansion on Carlton House Terrace and spent his final years as a country gentleman, far removed from the gaming tables that had made him rich.

The club closed on his death in 1844 and the building was sold to the Army and Navy Club. It was not until 1928 that the Crockfords name was revived, this time as a bridge club on the same Curzon Street address it occupies today.

From bridge the club expanded into casino games, adding Chemin de Fer, Roulette and Blackjack, and gradually built up the reputation for exclusivity and high stakes play that it enjoys to this day.

The Genting era

In 1971 the club was acquired by Genting, the Malaysian gaming giant that now owns a string of premium UK casinos. Under Genting's ownership the club has been extensively refurbished and now offers a gaming experience that is second to none in London.

The decor is understated and elegant, the staff impeccably trained and the games are conducted with the kind of quiet efficiency that you'd expect from one of the world's leading casino operators. There's Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and Three Card Poker on offer, along with electronic Roulette terminals for those who prefer a faster pace.

In 2012 poker legend Phil Ivey played Baccarat here and won £7 million; the win was disputed in the casino's favour as the technique he used – known as Edge Sorting – was deemed an illegitimate strategy. The story became one of the most talked-about casino controversies of the modern era.

The law that turned underground gambling into a legitimate London industry

The Betting and Gaming Act of 1960 was one of the most significant pieces of legislation in the history of British gambling. Before it was passed, almost all forms of commercial gambling were illegal, driving millions of pounds' worth of activity underground and into the hands of criminal gangs who operated outside the law with impunity.

The Act was the product of years of lobbying by reformers who argued that prohibition was not working and that the only sensible policy was regulation. They were right. Within five years of the Act's passage, over 16,000 betting shop licences had been granted by local magistrates, the casino industry had been transformed from a murky backroom operation into a legitimate business, and the Treasury was collecting substantial tax revenues from an industry that had previously contributed nothing to the public purse.

The problem the Act was designed to solve

Before 1960, betting on horses was technically legal if conducted on-course, but off-course cash betting was prohibited. This meant that the millions of working-class Britons who wanted to back a horse could only do so by using illegal street bookmakers, who operated openly in most cities and towns without any meaningful attempt at enforcement.

The same was true of casino gaming. Technically illegal under the Gaming Act of 1845, casino games were nonetheless played openly in private members' clubs throughout London, including in the grand establishment on Curzon Street that would later become Crockfords. The law was a dead letter.

The Royal Commission on Betting, Lotteries and Gaming, which reported in 1951, concluded that the existing law was unenforceable and recommended legalisation with regulation. It took another decade for the government to act on this advice, but when it finally did, the results were transformative.

What the Act actually did

The 1960 Act permitted cash betting in licensed premises, effectively creating the modern betting shop. It also relaxed the law on gaming, allowing games of skill to be played for stakes in licensed clubs. This opened the door for the first wave of legitimate London casinos.

The Act was, however, poorly drafted. It created a loophole that allowed almost any premises to host casino games as long as they were nominally a private members' club. This led to a rapid proliferation of gaming establishments in the early 1960s, not all of which met even the most basic standards of propriety.

John Aspinall, who would go on to found the legendary Clermont Club, was one of the first to exploit this loophole. He had been running illegal Chemmy parties throughout the late 1950s and was perfectly positioned to move into the newly legal market when the Act came into force.

The Gaming Act 1968: closing the loopholes

The explosion of gaming clubs that followed the 1960 Act quickly attracted the attention of organised crime. By the mid-1960s it was clear that the legislation needed to be tightened, and the Gaming Act 1968 was the result. This Act established the Gaming Board for Great Britain, imposed strict licensing requirements on all gaming establishments and effectively ended the era of the pop-up casino.

The 1968 Act transformed the industry. Only establishments that met the Board's stringent requirements could obtain a licence, which meant that the fly-by-night operators were driven out and the serious players – the Gentings, the Hiltons, the Rank Group – moved in. The Mayfair casino scene that we know today is the direct product of this process of consolidation and regulation.

The internet was supposed to kill the land casino. Mayfair had other plans.

When the first online casinos appeared in the mid-1990s, the smart money said the land-based casino was finished. Why would anyone drive to Mayfair, queue for a membership card, pay for a taxi and buy an overpriced drink when they could play the same games in their dressing gown from the comfort of their own home?

It was a reasonable question, and for a while it seemed as though the pessimists might be right. Footfall at some West End casinos dipped in the early years of the internet era. The operators who had built their businesses on the assumption that there was no alternative to their product suddenly found themselves competing with an industry that had none of their overheads and could offer a wider range of games at any time of day or night.

The land casino fights back

What happened next surprised everyone. Rather than collapsing under the pressure of online competition, the premium end of the London casino market went from strength to strength. The Hippodrome was transformed from a struggling nightclub into one of the most visited entertainment venues in Britain. Les Ambassadeurs was comprehensively refurbished. New operators like Wynn Resorts entered the market with ambitious plans for London's most prestigious addresses.

The reason, it turns out, is straightforward. Online casino gaming and land-based casino gaming are not the same product. They serve different needs. The online casino offers convenience, variety and the ability to play at three in the morning in complete privacy. The land casino offers something that no amount of software can replicate: an atmosphere, a social experience, the weight of history and the particular thrill of being physically present at a real roulette table with real money changing hands in real time.

Mayfair's casinos understood this distinction better than anyone. They are not in the business of providing a commodity. They are in the business of providing an experience. The Clermont Club does not compete with an online slots site. It competes with the best restaurants, the finest private members' clubs and the most exclusive entertainment experiences that London has to offer. On those terms, it wins every time.

The hybrid future

What the online era has done is sharpen the positioning of the best land-based operators. Rather than trying to compete on volume or variety – fights they cannot win against an industry with virtually unlimited server capacity – they have focused relentlessly on quality. The result is that the best Mayfair casinos today offer an experience that is genuinely world-class and utterly impossible to replicate online.

At the same time, the online and land-based markets have converged in ways that nobody predicted. Live dealer gaming, which streams real croupiers in real time to players around the world, has brought the atmosphere of the casino floor into the online experience. Mayfair Casino's own live dealer tables are testament to how far this technology has come: the HD streams, the professional dealers, the genuine cards and real roulette wheels create an experience that captures something essential about the casino floor without requiring anyone to leave their home.

The threat from online gaming did not kill the West End casino. It made it better. That is rather a Mayfair response to adversity, when you think about it.

From the Bellagio to Mayfair, the most opulent gaming rooms on the planet

The world's finest casinos have always been about more than gambling. They are theatres of aspiration, architectural statements and temples to the idea that leisure can be elevated into something approaching art. We have selected ten establishments that genuinely deserve the overused adjective 'luxurious'.

#1: The Palm Beach, Mayfair

We start at home, because it seems only right. The Palm Beach on Berkeley Street occupies a part of London that could only ever be Mayfair: discreet, expensive and possessed of a quiet confidence that needs no advertisement. The main gaming area is housed in what was once the ballroom of the Mayfair Hotel, and the proportions of the room alone are enough to make you feel like someone important.

This casino, though, is owned by Genting and gets their full attention along with stablemates The Colony and Crockfords.

All of these swanky Mayfair establishments offer top-notch gaming with glamour, exclusivity and prestige - but the Palm Beach has a little something extra.

The main gaming area has always edged this place ahead too, being as it is situated in what used to be the ballroom of The Mayfair Hotel. There's even a palm tree-shaped chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which – you'll probably be pleased to hear – is as close as the theming gets in respect of the name of this casino.

In terms of exclusivity, it's a lot easier to gain access here than at some other Mayfair establishments, though the tone is still decidedly upmarket – and we think that's exactly how it ought to be in Mayfair these days.

#2: The Bellagio, Las Vegas

The Bellagio is the casino that changed Las Vegas. Before Steve Wynn built it in 1998, the Strip had largely abandoned its mid-century ambition to be the most glamorous place on earth, settling instead for a populist spectacle of themed resorts and cut-price buffets. The Bellagio reasserted the idea that Las Vegas could be genuinely luxurious.

The dancing fountains that front the resort are, frankly, magnificent. The gallery of fine art inside is genuine and impressive. The casino floor is vast but somehow manages to feel intimate, which is a considerable achievement. The rooms are excellent. The restaurants are extraordinary. The Bellagio is, by any measure, one of the great hotels of the world.

#3: Casino de Monte-Carlo

Interestingly another casino with the same pedigree, the same level of lavish decor and their own online outlet also exists outside the UK – we're talking, of course, about the Monte Carlo Casino.

This is hands down the best-located casino on the planet when it comes to scenery. Set high above the ultra-exclusive principality of Monaco you'll get to see the French Riviera in all its glory when you arrive, leave or play in the Salle Blanche and Terrasse.

The main gaming area offers a surprisingly diverse set of games, and where almost any casino with this kind of pedigree in the UK would turn its nose up at more modern gaming innovations like slots and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em poker, there's no such snobbery here. The Monte Carlo may be over 150 years old and require jackets to be worn after 8pm, but there's nothing stuffy about it.

#4: The Venetian, Las Vegas

This may seem a little off at first: How can you equate somewhere in Mayfair with anywhere in a resort that looks like a film set? But luxury is about more than just some nice carpet and a few marble pillars. It's also about the general atmosphere of the place.

And that's why, at the superb Venetian hotel, nobody cares that you're not actually by the Adriatic and that the canals are on the second floor. It doesn't matter that it's all fake, because it's fake on such a massive, impressive scale.

Inside, all the rooms are suites. All 5,030 of them. Not only that, but they're all huge, starting at 650 square feet – and each one comes with its own sunken living room and marble bathroom.

#5: Crockfords, London

No analysis of the UK casino scene can miss out Crockfords. This notorious - now thankfully properly respectable – institution has more heritage than almost anywhere else on our list.

William Crockford was the son of a fishmonger, but even as a child possessed an extraordinary ability to calculate odds.

After quite legitimately thrashing a prominent London meat merchant at Cribbage he found himself with enough cash to move into the world of gambling. He eventually set up a club in St James's which was the first of its kind to offer an environment for the upper classes to gamble.

During the Regency era there was a surfeit of bored, wealthy young men on the scene thanks to 40 years of agricultural and industrial revolution, and Crockford was exactly the man to provide them with entertainment.

The club shut in 1842 and then re-opened much later in 1924 for the purpose of bridge tournaments, though card and table games rapidly appeared afterwards, and after moving premises to fashionable Curzon Street in Mayfair the transformation from illicit upper crust playboy club to reputable casino was complete.

Today Crockfords is fully owned and operated by the Genting empire – Asia's largest casino brand and a reliable capital base to ensure continued high standards. The decor is impeccable and there's Roulette, Baccarat, Blackjack and table poker on round the clock with high stakes and the best dealers in town.

#6: The Baden-Baden Casino

The Kurhaus in Baden Baden is a spa resort and casino in the Black Forest – and it illustrates the difference in culture between British and German gaming perfectly.

Ironically it started up the same year that Crockfords did in 1824. Architect Frederick Weinbrenner designed the building with huge, imposing Corinthian columns and neo-classical styling.

There's plenty of history to the place, too: Dostoyevsky's The Gambler was inspired by a visit here, and Marlene Dietrich once called it the most beautiful casino in the world.

#7: Les Ambassadeurs, London

Another Mayfair stalwart, this club – known affectionately as Les A – has a stunning view over Hyde Park from its position on Hamilton Place.

The interior, however, is also a feast for the eyes: The building was bought by Landing International Development in 2015 and has undergone a massive refurbishment.

The entire premises now looks fabulous, with a no-expense-spared old school charisma that money alone cannot buy.

Needless to say there are also plenty of private rooms, and again Les A go one step further with a salle privee that even has its own restaurant – and we don't know of anywhere else on the planet that offers such a facility.

#8: The City of Dreams, Macau

You can, though enjoy some seriously upscale fun at the City of Dreams in Macau.

At first glance this initially garish-looking hotel with 42,000 square feet of gaming may appear to be a complete anathema to anyone seeking the refinement of Mayfair's top casinos, but it actually offers the most refined experience that Macau has to offer and in a town that's second only to Vegas in terms of gaming variety, that's no mean feat.

You'll also get incredible views – not of a park but of the entire Hong Kong skyline which even Vegas can't match for pure light and energy.

#9: Wynn Mayfair, London

Hopping back to London, one gaming venue that has been making waves is Wynn Mayfair. Formerly Crown Aspinall's, this Curzon Street address is now part of Steve Wynn's global empire, bringing Las Vegas levels of investment and ambition to one of Mayfair's most historic gaming addresses.

Members only, as you would expect from a venue of this calibre, the club offers a gaming experience that sits comfortably alongside anything the Strip can offer – while remaining, at its heart, utterly and unmistakably Mayfair.

#10: Casino Monte Carlo

This is an experience that the UK just doesn't have the scenery or the weather for – and even though Vegas and Macau arguably have both, they can't match it for sheer class and elegance so if you're determined to enjoy a casino experience that is nothing short of unforgettable then we'd suggest a visit to Le Casino. You don't need to use any other name if you're within 20 miles of the place – the cab driver will know where you mean.

How does a poker champion almost walk away with over £7 million? Today we take a look

Phillip Dennis Ivey is regarded as the world's greatest poker player, having won the World Series of Poker ten times, earning one World Poker Tour title and sat at nine World Poker Tour tables.

In recent years, though, he's attracted attention in casinos for a rather different reason – as Ivey has been practicing Edge Sorting to gain an advantage at Baccarat in what is known as the Phil Ivey gambling scandal.

Not all cards are the same on the back

Ivey spotted a flaw in the system in at least two land casinos, noting irregularities on the backs of cards made by Gemaco, a well-established Kansas-based family-owned firm that have been manufacturing playing cards, tallies and score sheets for the gaming industry for many decades.

These cards are used by all manner of luxury casinos and somebody in Phil Ivey's position would have had no trouble at all in finding out which ones. He also knew which casinos' dealers were most likely to unwittingly collude in giving him his advantage as he spent so much time on the gaming floor.

Edge Sorting works by persuading a croupier to sort cards into low and high categories, thus giving the Baccarat player a much better idea of whether the Player, Banker or Tie position is most likely to get closest to a total of nine. It doesn't guarantee that the Edge Sorting player will win every hand but will give them a significant advantage.

At Crockfords Casino in London's Mayfair Ivey used an initial stake of £1 million and turned it into £7.3 million in winnings. This took place in 2012, though the ramifications went on for some time.

For edge sorting to work, the player needs some help from the croupier. Whilst the naked eye can look at the edge of a Gemaco card and make a reasonable guess as to its approximate value, the card then needs to be identified from there on in as low or high.

Superstition ain't the way...

To make this happen, Ivey pretended that he was superstitious and periodically asked 'strong' cards (sevens, eights and nines) to be rotated before being put back into the pack. He claimed that certain cards were 'lucky', and given that the croupier had no idea what was going on she was happy to oblige. Ivey also insisted that shuffling be done by machine, as machine-shuffled cards remain orientated the same way. That meant the 'lucky' cards were clearly identifiable, with their irregular edges all facing the same way.

Once play commenced, Ivey rituals were brushed aside: After all, the private room he was playing in was subject to security camera surveillance so the casino thought they had everything sewn up.

Whilst Ivey's pre-play antics may have raised a few eyebrows, you need to remember a few other factors:

Firstly, Baccarat players can be notoriously superstitious types anyway. Given that the game attracts the highest rollers of all this won't come as a surprise – if you were betting millions you'd probably start getting superstitious too. Casinos at all levels are usually happy to indulge players of this nature, and if someone is dropping millions in a single session it's in the house's interest to include a few extras.

In Ivey's case he didn't just get his cards turned around – he also got the Mandarin-speaking croupier he asked for, who chatted away with his 'partner', one Cheung Yin Sun. This particular lady friend didn't just speak the same language as the croupier – she was also a highly accomplished edge sorter, and knew more about the process than Ivey himself.

Sun was able to persuade the croupier to go along with the sorting process with her conversation meaning little to onlookers as no-one at Crockfords spoke fluent Mandarin, and Ivey had told the staff that she had accompanied him 'for luck'.

Despite all of this, Phil Ivey was still very welcome: For Crockfords it was a major coup to have someone of his status on their premises, so they were happy to cater to the whims of him and his partner.

Bizarrely they still didn't seem to mind when Sun realised that not all the packs of cards contained the desired irregularity – in which the pattern of small circles on the backs of the cards were printed a millimetre or so to one side. Ivey requested that they use Gemaco's 'lucky' Angel brand, and even when these were produced Sun had to ask for several packs to be opened until a pack came along that she felt was 'lucky' enough.

Perhaps Crockfords at this stage had twigged – after all, they're perfectly entitled to withhold winnings if cheating is suspected, though they did seem happy to let play continue and given that the technique didn't produce instant results for Ivey and Sun it's likely that the casino's management team were happy to let things continue, and for Ivey and Sun to carry on making seemingly ridiculous demands in order to get 'lucky'.

£7 million up after two nights of fluctuating fortunes

After two nights of gambling the pair had seen £106 million won and lost over the course of play, with the advantage not becoming apparent until some considerable time into their first session. With Ivey betting up to £150,000 a hand and continually losing the casino's management team, again, were more than happy to accommodate his wishes and the pair of gamblers were able to give the impression that they were not cheating.

Eventually, though, their 'luck' changed and they began making repeated wins, quickly reaching the £7 million level at which point they'd decided enough was enough.

Whether all inspection staff at Crockfords like to investigate wins of this magnitude or they simply took an abnormal level of interest in Ivey due to his celebrity status is not known, but Crockfords played along right to the end, even issuing Ivey with a receipt for his winnings.

The following day was a bank holiday in the UK, and Ivey was told he'd have the cash in his account when the banks were open the following day. Instead, the payment was turned down and Crockfords began arguing that Ivey had cheated.

The wrangling begins

Discussion ran for five months, during which time it was discovered that Ms Sun was already been banned from three US casinos for Edge Sorting – Ivey, though, was scrupulously honest at all times throughout his claim. His fundamental point was not an insubstantial one, either:

His assertion is that anyone entering a casino has the right to seek and exploit any advantage they can find; after all, casinos are perfectly happy to take money from players but they're bound to start kicking up a fuss when forced to pay out. They'll use every legal trick in the book to take your cash with high rolling players given endless concessions, so if someone can find a way to beat them without the casino stopping proceedings mid-play then why shouldn't so-called Advantage Players be allowed to make huge wins if they can pull it off?

Sadly Mr Justice Mitting ruled that Ivey and Sun's conduct was 'cheating for the purposes of civil law', and Ivey was forced to pay costs as well as lose the cash. He did, of course, get his original £1 million stake back – but the story doesn't end there.

Ivey has since appealed and the process kicked off in April 2016 with an outcome expected later in the year. The word on the street is this time Ivey stands a good chance of winning and thus the Phil Ivey gambling scandal continues.

This wasn't the only time Ivey has pulled the same trick. Atlantic City's upscale Borgata casino also used Gemaco Angel cards, and earlier in 2012 he visited them to win $9.6 million, although they also took exception to his style of play and sued him. As at Crockfords, Sun was with him and the procedure they used was more-or-less identical.

Claims – and counter-claims

There's a twist in this case, though, which – given the legal culture in the US - should come as no surprise, and that's that The Borgata are trying to sue Gemaco as well. The casino are claiming that Gemaco supplied them with cards that were inadequate, whereas Gemaco claim that their cards met with the applicable industry standards and that it was up to The Borgata to spot what was happening rather than indulge someone as clued-up as Ivey because he was gambling large amounts.

Further down the line, Ivey has – of course – counter-sued The Borgata on the basis that the cards he used to gain advantage with had been destroyed by them. Talking about his edge, Ivey pulled no punches when asked about practices used by The Borgata and all other casinos, citing quite correctly that the mission of casinos is to encourage patrons to lose money.

Anyone thinking that Ivey's public persona has been enhanced by all of this would be very wrong indeed. Although his face and name are now known to millions outside the poker circuit who would otherwise never have heard of him, his UK counsel have had to go to great length to protect his reputation, scrupulously combing the web for any articles that associate his name with the word 'cheat'.

Ivey and Sun's tale really is like something out of a fairytale, albeit a rather skewed one – and there will be plenty of people wishing to follow in his footsteps. Sadly, though, Ivey is an extraordinary character to say the least. Whether he wins or loses his appeal, Ivey got there first with Edge Sorting, and if you play live Baccarat anywhere in the world now it's highly unlikely you'll be presented with Gemaco's Angel cards.

Today we look at on one of the biggest poker scandals in recent memory

Whilst Phil Ivey's antics at Crockfords have made the biggest headlines in recent years when it comes to cheating at the casino, another impressive scam was orchestrated in May 2014 when a gang of Turkish players pulled off a £33,600 swindle of their own.

This incident must have been particularly embarrassing for The Victoria Casino and Grosvenor in general. Owned by the Rank Group, they've got fifty-five sites dotted all over the UK with over 1.7 million members in the UK, and The Victoria is arguably their most important venue as it's the one place in the UK that the world's greatest poker players congregate to outthink, outwit and outbluff one another for millions.

Whilst this goes on upstairs, there's a regular casino with games against the house downstairs and the professionalism seems to permeate from the upper floor downwards with some of London's most adept card players chancing their arm at Blackjack, Punto Banco and – of course – Three Card Poker.

Poker without any excessive risk

This game is becoming increasingly popular at luxury land casinos, and no longer has the downmarket, street game reputation that it once had. High end casinos were initially not keen to offer the game as it sounded a little too much like Three Card Brag.

With table poker games you're only playing against the house, who have to play according to specific rules. Just as Blackjack dealers are typically forced to draw until 17 and obey various other rules, table poker games work in a similar way - though you do also get to enjoy the concept of comparing ranked poker hands rather than the more simplified scoring systems used in Blackjack.

With card games evolving over centuries in pubs, gambling dens and private members' clubs it's hard to ascribe any particular variant to any one individual, but the Three Card Poker as it's played nowadays in casinos across the world was first – for want of a better word - invented by one Mr Derek Webb in 1994.

Webb wanted to play a game that combined the excitement of poker but stripped out the one major defect he thought the game had, which was that he thought it was too slow. Casino games played against the house, however, do happen at relatively high speed as there's far less to think about. Players need only worry about playing to a strict formula to gain an optimal chance of success – they don't need to second guess what their opponents are thinking or worry about bluffing, double bluffing and recalling every game they've ever played against the same player to try and guess how they'll bet.

Three factors were essential to the success of Three Card Poker: Firstly the rules had to be easy enough to understand; secondly the payouts had to be large enough to attract players, and thirdly the house edge had to be large enough that casino owners would be interested in adopting the game.

A slow start, but Three Card Poker is proving to be a big hit

Webb set up a marketing company – Prime Table Games - to market the game in both the USA and Great Britain, and the then-named British Casino Association suggested that the game be trialled in the US first.

Sales pitches in Reno, Vegas and Atlantic City failed initially, but a Mississippi casino took the game on and it grew to the point where the UK introduced it in 2002.

There are two fundamental aspects to the game:

Firstly you'll need to make a standard bet with the option to pay an ante (it's compulsory at some casinos), and you'll then be dealt a three card hand, as will the dealer. Ante players can fold or continue by placing a bet worth the same as the ante. Hands are then exposed and wagers resolved, though the dealer will only play their hand if it's Queen high or better.

If the dealer doesn't play there's no applicable Play wager and Ante wagers are paid 1 to 1. If the dealer does play, the dealer and player hands are compared and if the player hand loses, both the Ante and Play wagers lose. In the event that the player hand wins both the Ante and Play wagers are paid 1 to 1. If the hands are tied, then no money changes hands on the Ante and Play wagers.

The Pair Plus wager wins with a pair or better and loses if the player has less than a pair. This payoff applies regardless of what cards the dealer has; the Pair Plus bet isn't in competition against the dealer's hand.

The Turkish Scam

So how did a gang of players exploit all this to get a winning haul (albeit not for long) of over £33,000? The answer is actually pretty simple: They distracted the croupier and then swapped cards under the table.

They also attempted to block the view of CCTV cameras while the exchange took place, and – amazingly – thought they would get away with it.

Ergun Yasar, Tarik Nergiz, Murat Kolcak, Ozgur Aytekin and Ali Kuyar all admitted taking part in the scam between 4 April and 2 May 2014.

It is presumed that all five must have possessed an extraordinary ability to engage croupiers in deep conversation, as only three players at a time would work a single table – one in Position One and two in Positions Six and Seven.

Position One would chat to the dealer whilst either Position Six or Seven would try and block the camera and keep a general lookout.

The gang are believed to have made 32 'cheat' moves, with the pair in Positions Six and Seven swapping cards. Once they had a decent hand, the bet would be increased as permitted if an ante bet was made, which meant anyone betting large sums could give themselves a highly significant edge.

All of the five gentlemen were convicted of conspiracy to cheat, making profits of £2,000 and £5,000 over a period of nine separate days, and whilst Judge Anuji Dhir was able to sentence four of them, the fifth – Mr Nergiz – was arrested in Calais for human trafficking and received a 12 month sentence in a French jail for that offence.

Given the magnitude of such a crime and its severity in comparison to cheating in a casino it makes the latter crime seem almost negligible, but there's a huge difference between using information to become an Advantage Player and quite blatantly swapping cards when you think nobody's looking.

By Aaron Braund

Mayfair Venues

Wynn Mayfair

27-28 Curzon Street, W1J 7TJ Active

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5 Hamilton Place, W1J 7ED Active

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30 Berkeley Street, W1J 8EH Active

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Curzon Street, W1J 5HJ Active

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Cranbourn Street, WC2H 7JH Active

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5-6 Leicester Square, WC2H 7NA Active

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Grosvenor Victoria Casino

150 Edgware Road, W2 2DT Active

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The Rialto Casino

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Staying in control

We want you to enjoy our games, and for the vast majority of people gambling is a fun pastime. For a small number of people gambling can stop being fun and can become a problem.

Please email or call our customer support team if you want to:

• Discuss your gambling

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• Take a Time Out

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Our Customer Support team are well trained in all aspects of responsible gambling and are here to help you if needed.

Problem Gambling

If you feel that gambling may be taking over your (or someone else's) life, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you stay away from work, college or school to gamble?

2. Do you hide the amount you gamble from friends or family?

3. Do you gamble to escape boredom or unhappiness?

4. Have family or friends ever criticised your gambling?

5. Have you ever lied to cover up the amount of time or money you have spent on gambling?

6. After losing, do you feel you have to win back your losses as soon as possible?

7. Do you gamble until your last penny is gone?

8. Have you lied, stolen or borrowed to get money for gambling or to pay a gambling debt?

9. Do arguments, frustrations, anger or disappointments make you want to gamble?

10. Do you feel depressed or even suicidal because of your gambling?

The more you answer 'yes' to these questions above the more likely it is that you have a serious gambling problem. To speak to someone about this please call GamCare on 0808 8020 133 or visit their website at www.gamcare.org.uk.

Things to Remember

Whilst the majority of people gamble within their financial means for some it can become a problem. It may help you to remember the following points:

1. Gambling should be seen as entertainment and not as a way of making money.

2. Avoid chasing losses.

3. Only gamble what you can afford to lose.

4. Keep a track on the time you spend gambling and the amount of money you spend.

5. If you want to have a break from gambling or set deposit limits, you can call or email the Customer Support team for advice.

6. If you need to talk to someone about problem gambling then contact GamCare (see below).

Reality Checks

Reality Check is an additional feature introduced to assist you in managing your gameplay and is available in the "Your Account" section of the lobby. When enabling the Reality Check feature you acknowledge that Grace Media Gibraltar is not required to close or self-exclude your account or prevent you from using our services as a result of you using the feature.

Reality Check reminders will appear during your current game after the set time period selected by you. You will then be given the opportunity to continue playing or review your account history.

Setting Deposit Limits

We understand that some customers like to be able to set a limit on the amount they can deposit into their account over a certain time period. The deposit limit facility allows you to limit the amount of money that you are able to deposit into your account either daily, weekly or monthly.

These amounts may be reduced at any time and a reduction of your limits will be implemented immediately. An increase in your deposit limits will only be implemented after 24 hours following the request.

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If you feel that your gambling is in control but would like to take a break, then a time out period may help you. A time out period is a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of six weeks and is set by you.

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If you feel that you would like to prevent yourself from gambling completely, then total self-exclusion is available. A player may request self-exclusion by contacting our Customer Service team via email or telephone. By self-excluding, you will be unable to access your account for a specified period between six months and five years.

GamCare

GamCare is a registered charity that provides confidential telephone support and counselling to anyone who is affected by problem gambling. GamCare can be contacted on 0808 8020 133 or by visiting www.gamcare.org.uk.

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There are a number of third party applications available that parents or guardians can use to monitor or restrict the use of their computer's access to the Internet. These include Net Nanny (www.netnanny.com), CYBERsitter (www.cybersitter.com), Gamblock (www.gamblock.com) and Betfilter (www.betfilter.com).

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Mayfair Casino is operated by Grace Media (Gibraltar) Limited of Sovereign Place 117 Main Street, Gibraltar, GX11 1AA.

Grace Media (Gibraltar) Limited is licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission (Licence Ref #57869) and in Gibraltar by the Gibraltar Government and regulated by the Gibraltar Gambling Commission (RGL No.125).

The gambling software is powered by Grace Media (Gibraltar) Limited, licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (Ref #57869) and by the Gibraltar Gambling Commission (RGL No.118).

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Every game at Mayfair Casino has been tested to ensure 100% randomness. We undergo regular audits to ensure that our website remains safe and secure for you to play. We are approved by the UK Gambling Commission for safe gaming.

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For customer support, please visit our casino platform and contact the Support Team.