Grosvenor Casino Reading. The casino in Reading is a relatively small casino. The casino’s official name is Grosvenor Casino Reading. It offers a small number of slot machines. The total number of live game tables is rather small. The casino Reading offers the classic table games such as Blackjack and Roulette and in addition Poker Table Games. Deposit bonuses Grosvenor Casino Poker Reading are cash rewards you receive when you put money into a a USA online casino. Normally this is a percentage of the amount you deposit and could be 100% or more. Grosvenor Poker is stacked with regular freerolls, great events and satellites to some of the UK’s biggest live poker events. Check for the latest and greatest online poker promotions. Join our poker tournaments. Sadly we are unable to continue running poker tournaments or games at our UK venues. The exception being three-card poker games at selected venues. We would like to thank our poker community for their support over the years, especially to those who have been with us since Genting Poker Series launched in 2012, and our staff who helped create an.
| Industry | Gambling |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 53 |
| 6,349 | |
| Parent | The Rank Group |
| Website | grosvenorcasinos.com |
Established in 1970,[1]Grosvenor Casinos (formerly County Clubs and Grosvenor Clubs) is a UK-based chain of 53 casinos located in major towns and cities across the UK, with two unbranded sister casinos located in Belgium. Grosvenor Casinos is owned by The Rank Group who operate exclusively in the casino, bingo and online gaming industries across Belgium, Spain and the UK.
As of June 2014, revenue was reported at £391.2m, with an operating profit of £56.8m - coming from a total of over 1.7 million customers per year.[2] Of these 1.7 million customers, over 8.5 million customer visits occur every year. The Grosvenor casino network currently employs over 6,300 employees across the UK. Their online casino hosts over 250 games with themes spanning from traditional roulette, blackjack and poker - to the more modern slot styles and live gaming. Grosvenor are licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission.[3]
Originally ‘County Clubs’, the casinos came to be known as ‘Grosvenor Clubs’ and in 1969 on 2 January, Grosvenor Clubs officially changed name to ‘Grosvenor Casinos’.
Grosvenor Casinos is currently the shirt sponsor for Fulham F.C. Grosvenor signed a deal to become the London club's main team partner in July 2017.
History[edit]
Acquisition of the Ricoh Arena casino[edit]
In April 2009 Grosvenor purchased the casino inside the Ricoh Arena complex in Coventry for £650,000.[4]
Leaving the British Casino Association[edit]
During 2009, Grosvenor Casinos announced they were leaving the now defunct British Casino Association (BCA). The BCA existed to promote casino best practice and influence UK government legislation surrounding gambling. Reportedly the BCA began to fail in promoting and improving the casino industry, and once annual membership fees were raised to £140,000, it saw the departure of Grosvenor, just as the large Gala Coral Group had withdrawn in October 2008.[5]
Loyalty card scheme[edit]
In May 2012, the first roll out of a new plastic card service in Grosvenor Casinos was implemented with ‘Grosvenor Play Points’ entering 35 casinos across the UK. This came as a result of the Grosvenor Casinos and Play Points brands merging to create one loyalty card.[6]
Gala takeover[edit]
Grosvenor Casinos completed their takeover of 19 casinos from the Gala Coral Group across the UK on 12 May 2013 [7] making them the largest casino network in the UK. A similar deal to acquire 23 casinos from Gala had previously stalled in 2012 due to a decision by the Competition Commission and OFT.[8] The revised deal in 2013 saw 4 casinos removed from the agreement.
Redtooth partnership[edit]
On 28 April 2014, Grosvenor Casinos announced a two-year partnership with the world's largest live pub poker tournament group Redtooth Poker. Grosvenor Casinos hosted the regional and national UK finals and online events. The move integrated Redtooth Poker and Grosvenor's own poker tournament, the Grosvenor UK Poker Tournament (GUKPT).[9]
Live events[edit]
On 25 March 2011, Grosvenor Casinos announced they were to host new poker event called the Goliath. Designed to attract up to 1,500 players, the Goliath had an initial buy-in at £100 + £20 and offered a guaranteed prize pool of £100,000, with 25% of the registration fee going to the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity.[10] The most recent Goliath event in 2014 became the largest poker tournament ever held outside of the US with a total of 3,394 players entering.[11] For the 2015 event Grosvenor estimate over 4,000 participants will enter.[12]
Grosvenor employees also played the highest poker tournament on record at the top of Mount Snowdon in September 2011. The 3,500 ft. stunt was attempted to raise money for the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity, with a total of £11,000 being collected.[13]
Controversy[edit]
In December 2006 staff walked out of four Grosvenor Casinos in London in a dispute over pay increases.[14] A month later, around 300 workers went on strike over the same ongoing dispute.[15]
In September 2014 Northern Ireland's Social Development Minister, Nelson McCausland, dismissed the idea that a Grosvenor Casino could open due to the ongoing ban on casinos.[16]
Technology[edit]
In November 2011, Grosvenor installed software that would spot cheating at roulette tables. Developed by Ipsotek, the software detects a cheat called 'top-hatting', as well as detecting cheating after 'last bets' has been called. The software is linked to CCTV cameras monitoring the table at all times.[17]
In October 2012, Grosvenor introduced a new product to the casino industry, Pinball Roulette machines. The new machine offers single player roulette game and the ball is launched by a pinball-style trigger into the wheel. The main feature of the product is that it offered the player control over when they wished to spin the ball. Thirty of the machines, developed by Austrian Gaming Industries, were installed at 22 clubs across the UK.[18]
During November 2013, Evolution Gaming joined Grosvenor Casinos to create a ‘Live Casino’ targeting players on their online casino.[19] The games include blackjack, roulette and baccarat and are available 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. The live game system is designed to produce an environment more closely matching a real casino experience.
In July 2013, Grosvenor Casinos in London, Reading and Coventry created the world's first multi-site cloud casino experience called the IGT Cloud. The new technology offers analytical reporting tools which offer insight into product performance on a game-by-game basis. Operators can remotely change the games on the floor to provide a more customized gambling experience.[20]
Grosvenor Casinos partnered with Tensator in 2014 to create virtual casino hosts. The Tensator Virtual Assistant Ultra stands 50 cm x 50 cm and replicates a live game in real time. The assistant also offers a range of information for players and other frequently asked questions.[21]
In February 2014, The Rank Group and Grosvenor Casinos joined with Jumio to use their Netverify solution. This was integrated into the casino's online database and is designed to provide customers with a more efficient identification procedure. Customers are required to scan their passport or driving license via their device camera, and Netverify then authenticates it using a range of security features.[22]
In November 2016 Grosvenor Casinos has confirmed the launch of new sports betting offering for its online and land-based players.[23]
Grosvenor awarded TCS John Huxley a new 3-year deal to service and maintain their gaming equipment across the UK, starting February 2015.[24]
Awards[edit]
International Gaming Awards[edit]
Grosvenor and Rank were awarded the 'Casino Operator of the Year' award at the 2013 International Gaming Awards.[25] Rank Group were awarded the 'Socially Responsible Operator of the Year Land Based' award in 2014 and 2015.[26][27]
Women in Gaming Awards[edit]
Grosvenor Casinos’ HR team were awarded Team of the Year at the Women in Gaming independent annual awards in June 2012. The team, led by Fiona Regan Head of HR, were awarded for their successful Hearts and Minds initiative, which focused on internal and employee recognition.[28]
In 2014 they won the same award whilst also picking up the Inspiration of the Year award.[29]
References[edit]
- ^'Rank - Grosvenor Casinos'. Rank.com.
- ^'Rank - Grosvenor Casinos'. Rank.com.
- ^'Gambling Commission'. Gambling Commission.
- ^'Sold Ricoh casino in £1m revamp'. BBC News.
- ^'Casino operator's withdrawal leaves trade body floundering'. Financial Times.
- ^'Grosvenor Casinos places bet on Plastic Card Services'.
- ^'Mecca Bingo owner Rank buys Gala casinos for £205m'. BBC News.
- ^'Rank takeover of Gala sent to Competition Commission - BBC News'.
- ^'Redtooth wins at Grosvenor Casino'. The Star.
- ^'1,500 Runner Grosvenor Goliath Announced in Coventry'. UK Poker News.
- ^'World poker: Goliath smashes record for biggest poker tournament held outside US'. The Mirror.
- ^'Goliath Poker Tournament 2015'. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ^'Stakes are high for Snowdon poker'. Wales Online.
- ^'Casino staff to strike in row over pay deal'. The Guardian.
- ^'Casino staff walk out over pay'. BBC News.
- ^'Nelson McCausland says casino ban will not be removed'. BBC News.
- ^'Casino cheats snared by smart camera system'. New Scientist.
- ^'G Casinos get pinball roulette'. InterGame.
- ^'UK – Evolution doubles Grosvenor's online live dealer offer'. G3.
- ^'Grosvenor Casinos to manage gaming machines from the cloud'. TechWorld.com.
- ^'Tensator's Virtual Assistant proves safe bet for Grosvenor Casinos'. Tensator.
- ^'Rank identify Jumio as new partners'. SBC News.
- ^'Grosvenor Casinos launches new sportsbook with Kambi'. SBC News. 16 November 2016.
- ^'Grosvenor contract for TCS John Huxley'. SBCnews. Luke Massey InterGame.
- ^'IGA Winners 2013'. Gaming-Awards.com.
- ^'IGA Winners 2014'. Gaming-Awards.com.
- ^'IGA Winners 2015'. Gaming-Awards.com.
- ^'Grosvenor Casinos HR team wins prestigious award'. InterGame.
- ^'WIG Winners 2014'. Gaming-Awards.com.
Tournament poker is the ultimate game of perseverance. Even the best players can expect to cash in fewer than 20% of competitions, so losing streaks can easily run into the hundreds of games.
It takes a certain type of personality to grind tourneys; arguably my previous life as a software developer equipped me well.
In computer programming, patience and perseverance are the name of the game. “Try, try, try again.”
With the omnipresence of the microchip and ubiquity of phones/tablets/laptops, everyone is familiar with computer bugs: faults or quirks of software behaviour, essentially the failure of a program to do what it says on the tin. Nowadays even televisions have bugs.
When you realise how much design and coding goes into even the most mundane software functions, it seems miraculous that software does actually work most of the time; there are just so many potential points of failure.
In the months and years it takes to develop any useful piece of software, the code base is in a perpetual state of brokenness. Figuring out why the program’s not doing what you believe you told it to do isn’t just a part of the job, it basically is the job.
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker” – Denis Waitley
Busting a poker tournament is never fun, but it’s not merely a necessary evil: it’s a way of life. I’m sure nobody is immune to that flutter of anticipation when deep in a big game, but losing most of the time is in the job description, and with experience one learns to recalibrate one’s sense of hope and expectation.
Just as a programmer would become sick with stress if he felt continually frustrated by his software failing to perform as expected, the tournament grinder would go stir crazy if he persistently believed each successive competition was going to be the one.
The interminable plodding makes it all the more special when things do finally come together.
We’re halfway through the GUKPT 2017 calendar, and with the above in mind—with fewer than twenty GUKPT comps under my belt—it would be an understatement to say I have had a good run:
GUKPT London—no joy in the Main Event (I exited embarrassingly early) but saved face by winning a side event for £1,900.
GUKPT Manchester—chopped the Main, banking my biggest ever score, and took home one of the most enviable trophies in the business.
GUKPT Edinburgh—the only leg I’ve completely bricked. My online HendonMob profile has accrued “flags” (denoting tournament cashes around the world) in locations such as Sweden, the Czech Republic and even the Caribbean—alas a Scotland flag still eludes me.
GUKPT Walsall—I cashed in the Main Event, and final-tabled a side, in which I also won a last-longer bet with Rick “TheClaimeer” Trigg. I’ll admit that was a bad bet, but poker’s a game where the fish can win!
GUKPT Reading—got burned with aces in the bounty event; managed to get sunburnt on my day off; but there was nothing to be red-faced about in the Main. My friends Al and Lee both finished in the money, and I reached another final table – *boom!*
You’ve Been Mallu’d
You know you’ve made it when your name becomes a verb.
Presumably this makes Ali Mallu only slightly less famous than William Hoover or Barry Google. UK poker would not be the same without the gambling legend, and every regular on the British tournament circuit has heard a story about someone being Mallu’d.
If Ali ever had a rule book he’s long since thrown it out the window, so don’t be surprised if you see him open-raise to nine times the big blind with 10-3 offsuit. He’s renowned for his epic punts, but he’s also no stranger to lifting trophies.
I’ve seen trends come and go in the nine years I’ve played poker in earnest. There’s more than one way to skin a cat: once upon a time “small ball” was a fashionable thing; later everyone wanted to be “hyper-LAG”—and of course there have always been successful players that played against the trends.
However two enduring strategies that have stood the test of time are: (a) raw aggression; (b) getting there when you call an all-in with 6-4 suited.
Dance Like Nobody’s Watching
Ali Mallu does not give a monkey’s. He reminds me of a song:
“You’ve got to sing like you don’t need the money,
Love like you’ll never get hurt.” (Richard Leigh & Susanna Clark)
Grosvenor Casino Reading Poker Tournaments
This sentiment seems applicable to poker. Perhaps—
Grosvenor Casino Reading Poker Tournament
You got to play like you don’t need the money,
Shove like your hand’s a dead cert.
The first rule of Mallu Club is: you do NOT care what anybody else thinks.
Ali doesn’t waste energy being self-conscious and that’s something every poker player could learn from. If you never do something that ends up looking slightly daft, you’re probably not trying hard enough.
Ali indisputably makes some wacky plays, but before you dismiss him as a clown, replay the final table and note how many pots he takes down without showdown.
My own Reading Main Event journey had a steady start, and I would bag up a decent though below-average 42k (42 BBs) at the end of day one. I picked up the pace on day two, a fortuitous flop and some pre-flop coolers aiding my ascent to 100 BBs (4th of 47 in chips) by dinner break.
There was a period of treading water, no drama on the money bubble, then on day three a painful and protracted final-table bubble.
With ten players left, I’d have done well to walk away from the table for 90 minutes, but instead I doubled two short stacks, and made an “incorrect” fold with top pair, my stack freefalling from 530k (33 big blinds) to 260k (13 BBs) by the time there were nine.
Final Fight
The final table—my third GUKPT Main Event final, and my second of 2017—was dramatic. I had four run-ins with Ali Mallu, and he got the better of me in the two biggest pots.
When an adversary is willing to play with such zeal you have to be willing to embrace the variance, or else blind away. Hold’em hand values can be close pre-flop and there’s “always a sweat”.
Even when Ali called my 9.5bb hijack-jam with 4-2 off, the confrontation was reduced to a pure coin flip when he flopped a club draw to go with his two live cards!
Staring Down the Barrel
Mercifully the 4-2 was not triumphant, but I couldn’t hold in my most pivotal hand of the tourney, with the most hated hand in hold’em: pocket jacks versus Ali’s nines, for a pot of 1.2 million.
As Phil “The Tower” remarked on the commentary, Ali Mallu was staring down the barrel; I would be 2nd of 6 with 69 BBs (28% of all the chips in play) were my jacks to hold up. The good news is that you can breathe a sigh of relief—this is my one and only bad beat whine.
Ultimately I took 6th place, cashing for £4,820.
Disappointing given I had been 2/8, but a decent “ladder” considering I was 9/9 going into the final.
Finish Him!
The final hand of GUKPT Reading attracted big laughs. For the SECOND time on the final table, Ali called a shove with four-high!
It wasn’t Barry Cobb’s day, a lowly 3 on the flop enough for Mallu to clinch his second GUKPT Main Event title and a cool £35,000. What a guy!
Hat tipped to Barry for playing solid, keeping a comparatively low profile, getting so close to the finishing line, and despite the eventual bad beat locking up a £23,000 payday.
GUKPT London is just around the corner at the Poker Room, and it will be huge—the biggest £550 event of the year. Last year 419 entries generated a first prize of £57,340.
The opening event, the £110 “Mini Main”, kicks off on Sunday 25th June.
Day 1A of the £550 Main Event commences Thursday 29th June.
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