Aspers Casino Review
Being more used to Brighton's Rendezvous Casino or the
Empire Casino in Leicester Square I was quite stunned at the size of
Aspers Casino (Stratford, East London) when I visited in January 2012. I had been
told that it had one of the new licences that meant they could have more than the standard 20 slots
(and more tables) available under a traditional UK casino licence but I wasn't sure if the trip over
to East London was one I really relished. But in my opinion, it turned out to be well worth it
(well, not financially I should add!).
Aspers Casino opened at the end of 2011 above the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, overlooking the new Olympic stadium (not close enough to skip buying Olympic tickets I might add!) and the athlete's village built for the 2012 Olympic Games. It wasn't quite the concrete block I expected - much nicer. Long and wide shopping arcades form the most part - bright with nice decorations and considering I went there just before midnight on a Friday, the whole complex seemed pretty busy!
Getting to Aspers was easy enough even though it's not very central. Half an hour from Covent Garden on the tube (Central Line) or £30 in a taxi which took about 20 mins at that time of night. There is a big taxi rank there and the tube station/DLR station is right by the shopping centre (as is the taxi rank) which is out of town next to the Olympic complex. Because of the Olympics, security is tight but it's not as rough and ready a place as I expected, Quite the opposite.
The entrance to Aspers casino is off the main shopping arcade, clearly sign-posted. You take a lift up a couple of floors and come out into a massive (by European standards) casino which houses 150 slot machines, 40 gaming tables, a bar and sports screen area with comfortable seating and off to one side, the "Sky Bar" which was very busy (and loud!) on the Friday night we visited. The Sky Bar overlooks the Olympic village. There is also a decent sized smoking terrace off the casino with not such good views of the shopping centre LOL.
The casino was buzzing and many of the tables full but with so many slots at Aspers, getting on my favourite games like Dolphin's Pearl Deluxe, Katana and Book Of Ra 2 wasn't a problem at all. Aspers casino isn't quite as opulaent as somewhere like the Palm Beach Casino but does have a really nice feel to it. Drinks are delivered as you play although being so busy, it wasn't as frequent as I'd have liked. Like all UK casinos, you pay for alcoholic beverages - when playing the slots anyway...can't vouch for at the tables. Slots in the UK have a £2 max bet - maybe that's why.
As for the slots themselves, the choice is massive but dominated by IGT and Novomatic games as you would probably expect. BUT... they do have a few WMS slot machines and even one or two Aristocrat games if you look around. The WMS ones aren't big names (although I did see the Crystal Forest video slot there) but I know for a fact that when the new multi-game kiosks from WMS are launched around May 2012 this will improve.
Because of the 150 options it means, thankfully, IGT's Pharaohs Fortune slots and the much loved but now dated looking Cleopatra slots don't dominate Aspers. Novomatic games are the ones that seem to stand out most in fact: Katana, Rich Witch, Lions, Dolphins Pearl, Lucky Ladys Charm... all are here on the familar Novomatic Multi-Gaminator machines in abundance, along with the newer IGT multi-game kiosks and even games like Sex In The City and Star Wars Droid Hunt which until now, I've only ever seen in Las Vegas!
Aspers Casino is much more like a Vegas casino than other London casinos like Gala Casino or the more opulent Barracuda casino although no-one could deny that Vegas does things on a much larger scale! It lacks the ambience of somewhere like the Grosvenor Casino in Piccadilly but the choice of games is clearly much better, especially if you like your slots!
So is Aspers worth the trip out to East London? I'd say that if you are a slots player wanting an evening out then definitely! The decision for Table Games players is harder to review because the central London casinos are probably more than adequate but the sheer number and choice of slots makes Aspers casino stand head and shoulders above other UK casinos at the minute.
Summary:
Aspers Casino, London reviewed by Simmo on January 30th, 2012.
By far the biggest casino in London, if not the UK. It's a bit of a trek but for slot games players it's a trek worth taking. Aspers Casino has over 150 slots and 40 tables and overlooks the Olympic stadium. It gets very busy but I loved my first visit here and will definietly be back.
Rating: 4.5
Aspers Casino opened at the end of 2011 above the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, overlooking the new Olympic stadium (not close enough to skip buying Olympic tickets I might add!) and the athlete's village built for the 2012 Olympic Games. It wasn't quite the concrete block I expected - much nicer. Long and wide shopping arcades form the most part - bright with nice decorations and considering I went there just before midnight on a Friday, the whole complex seemed pretty busy!
Getting to Aspers was easy enough even though it's not very central. Half an hour from Covent Garden on the tube (Central Line) or £30 in a taxi which took about 20 mins at that time of night. There is a big taxi rank there and the tube station/DLR station is right by the shopping centre (as is the taxi rank) which is out of town next to the Olympic complex. Because of the Olympics, security is tight but it's not as rough and ready a place as I expected, Quite the opposite.
The entrance to Aspers casino is off the main shopping arcade, clearly sign-posted. You take a lift up a couple of floors and come out into a massive (by European standards) casino which houses 150 slot machines, 40 gaming tables, a bar and sports screen area with comfortable seating and off to one side, the "Sky Bar" which was very busy (and loud!) on the Friday night we visited. The Sky Bar overlooks the Olympic village. There is also a decent sized smoking terrace off the casino with not such good views of the shopping centre LOL.
The casino was buzzing and many of the tables full but with so many slots at Aspers, getting on my favourite games like Dolphin's Pearl Deluxe, Katana and Book Of Ra 2 wasn't a problem at all. Aspers casino isn't quite as opulaent as somewhere like the Palm Beach Casino but does have a really nice feel to it. Drinks are delivered as you play although being so busy, it wasn't as frequent as I'd have liked. Like all UK casinos, you pay for alcoholic beverages - when playing the slots anyway...can't vouch for at the tables. Slots in the UK have a £2 max bet - maybe that's why.
As for the slots themselves, the choice is massive but dominated by IGT and Novomatic games as you would probably expect. BUT... they do have a few WMS slot machines and even one or two Aristocrat games if you look around. The WMS ones aren't big names (although I did see the Crystal Forest video slot there) but I know for a fact that when the new multi-game kiosks from WMS are launched around May 2012 this will improve.
Because of the 150 options it means, thankfully, IGT's Pharaohs Fortune slots and the much loved but now dated looking Cleopatra slots don't dominate Aspers. Novomatic games are the ones that seem to stand out most in fact: Katana, Rich Witch, Lions, Dolphins Pearl, Lucky Ladys Charm... all are here on the familar Novomatic Multi-Gaminator machines in abundance, along with the newer IGT multi-game kiosks and even games like Sex In The City and Star Wars Droid Hunt which until now, I've only ever seen in Las Vegas!
Aspers Casino is much more like a Vegas casino than other London casinos like Gala Casino or the more opulent Barracuda casino although no-one could deny that Vegas does things on a much larger scale! It lacks the ambience of somewhere like the Grosvenor Casino in Piccadilly but the choice of games is clearly much better, especially if you like your slots!
So is Aspers worth the trip out to East London? I'd say that if you are a slots player wanting an evening out then definitely! The decision for Table Games players is harder to review because the central London casinos are probably more than adequate but the sheer number and choice of slots makes Aspers casino stand head and shoulders above other UK casinos at the minute.
Summary:
Aspers Casino, London reviewed by Simmo on January 30th, 2012.
By far the biggest casino in London, if not the UK. It's a bit of a trek but for slot games players it's a trek worth taking. Aspers Casino has over 150 slots and 40 tables and overlooks the Olympic stadium. It gets very busy but I loved my first visit here and will definietly be back.
Rating: 4.5
