Britain’s Oldest Casino, Crockfords, Closes Its DoorsPhil Ivey Once Won $11 Million At The Property |
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Britain’s oldest casino has closed its doors. Crockfords Casino hosted some of the world’s wealthy, royalty, and aristocracy through the years since the gambling house’s founding in 1828.
The property is located in London’s Mayfair area and owners Genting Casinos cited a smaller number of high-end shoppers and visitors frequenting the area as the reason for shuttering the property. Other area casinos, such as The Ritz and The Clermont, have also closed in recent years.
“A combination of factors have put high end London casinos at a competitive disadvantage to other global marketplaces and this has led to an unsustainable future for Crockfords in Mayfair,” Genting Casinos President Paul Willcock said.
Gambling History
Founded as a club for gentlemen, Crockfords offered a chance for well-heeled men of the time to gamble and converse. Founder William Crockford, formerly a fishmonger, became one of the wealthiest men in the country after opening the casino.
Like some modern Las Vegas casinos, the property attracted plenty of big names including the Duke of Wellington, who is believed to have been a member. Originally a members-only club, the casino later opened to a wider clientele. Players could gamble in style, taking note of the ornate confines and exceptional cuisine and cocktails.
“The most fashionable club before the establishment of the Coventry (House Club) was Crockfords, and I was elected to it immediately after being returned for Parliament (in 1842),” writer and politician Sir William Gregory noted in his autobiography.
“It was admirably kept. Francatelli, the cook, was unequaled; there was a first-rate supper, gratis, with the best champagne for those who hungered and thirsted after midnight; and in a little room off the supper-room was the gambling table, at which too many an ardent admirer of Hazard (a dice game popular in the 17th and 18th centuries) had lost all his fortune.”
Phil Ivey Connection
Crockfords attracted some major action through the years. In September 1999, Australian media tycoon and casino “whale” Kerry Packer reportedly lost $16.5 million on a gambling spree.
The property also has a major connection to the poker world. Ten-time World Series of Poker winner Phil Ivey won $11 million in a game of Punto Banco, a derivative of Baccarat.
The casino later refused to pay Ivey the winnings and accused the poker player and a partner of utilizing “edge sorting” while playing. Edge sorting is a method of predicting face-down cards via minute differences in details on the backs of the cards. A savvy gambler can then predict whether high or low-value cards will come out.
Ivey sued and lost with the court ruling the pair had been “cheating under civil law.” An appeal to the UK Supreme Court also ruled in Crockfords’ favor.
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