Empire Casino — Attraction in London

I'll start by saying, that I will never step foot in this establishment simply because it became apparent that this place clearly discriminates against people of a certain ethnicity as well as non-drinkers/ alcoholics.

I hope the establishments's HR/ Customer Service Reps are reading this because I, and my friends, were completely taken aback by the rude and abhorrent behavior of the bouncers working on the night of the 19th October (this past weekend). What we thought was going to be a nice night out with each other, turned out to be one where I experienced blatant racism and prejudice from the bouncers outside the establishment.

I should state that while I understand the duties of bouncers (having a relative that currently works as a director of security at an establishment), I know that this behavior from bouncers was completely uncalled for and unprovoked. The encounter went as follows: -- The bouncer checked my friends IDs and allowed them into the establishment. -- I approached the bouncer with kindness and then provided my ID as requested. The bouncer then checked my ID and upon returning it, began to accuse me of having too many drinks prior to coming to this establishment. I found this odd because I simply do not drink alcohol. When he asked (very rudely and agressively I should add) how many drinks I had that night already, I told him that I, in fact, had not had any alcoholic drinks because I don't drink (due to health concerns). He then pressed the issue, continuing to accuse me of lying about how many drinks I had/ my habits and then proceeded to ask me why I would even want to enter the establishment (with my friends who were going to drink) if I wasn't going to drink. I guess, in the bouncer's eyes, that in order to socialize and have friends that I would have to drink alcohol because I couldn't possibly just want to chat with my friends!

Admittedly, at this point, I grew frustrated. My friends had gone inside the establishment and I was trying to prove to the bouncer that I was not a drinker and only wanted to socialize with my friends. It was clear that he was starting to grow angry (after having possibly felt belittled) when I very clearly tried to explain to him that not everyone drinks and that some people like to dance, listen to music, gamble, and socialize without having a drink at casinos.

At the time, I did not understand why I was singled out from my friend group, but it became apparent that he did this because I was ethnically different from my friends. This is because not only did he stop me (the non-drinker) but he, again, allowed my friends (who had actually been drinking prior to arriving and who were of European and East Asian descent) inside the establishment. This, unfortunately, led me to believe that he is not only ignorant of the fact that some people are quite capable of going out and having fun without having to drink alcohol, but that he is also racist against people he deems inferior because of their skin color/ ethnicity.

Absolutely appalling.

I'll end this by stating that at no point did I (nor my friends) deserve such mistreatment, especially after having approached the bouncer with kindness, providing him my ID as requested, and trying to answer his questions as best as I could despite his constant yelling and disruptions.

Never have I received this type of treatment and it was a major shock not only to me, but to my friends that I was met with such behavior. I will not be going to this establishment again and I hope that in the furture, any person of color (who is not East Asian) wanting to enter this establishment does not run into this bouncer and has an experience like this.

(pictured on the right is the alleged racist bouncer, pictured on the left is the rude bouncer and pictured in the middle is...

I am truly sorry that two days ago, (Sunday 30th) I ordered a Butchers Board platter, I paid for my order and then the waiting staff delivered the wrong food, however, I did not realize it was not my order because it was the second time I ordered some food in there and I had no idea how the plate was going to look like. Some people sitting next to us asked us what we ordered so they could order the same and I told them it was the Butchers Board and then they explained to us that they always ordered that plate and it was not what we had in the table. When I told the staff that they made this mistake, they started to figure out about this.

About one-hour latter, after some waiters and waitresses asked tables around us about their orders, a staff member (a woman that looks like a supervisor) came back to the table and asked me in a rude way if I was going to pay or not for the food that was misplaced. I refused to do it because even though I began to eat it, I didn't eat it all and it wasn't what I ordered, then that woman asked security to kick us out and we told them that we wanted to speak with the manager on duty because of her rudeness and their mistake.

When David (the manager who refused to give us his last name) came, he asked us what happened and we explained to him the situation. After that, he told me he was going to give back my money and still he asked us to leave the place. We were not happy with the situation but still, we agreed to it because We already had enough from the rude staff. We were getting ready to leave and waiting for my money back when the manager came in again and told me that I did not pay for the food and I was practically stealing from them, something that is completely false because I did pay for the food and at the bar after every order they always ask for the payment immediately and he asked reception to cancel my membership, which I happily did considering the rude and awful treatment of the staff to me.

At this point, I was offended by the rude manager who accused me of stealing and in my way to the exit I told him that in my personal opinion he was the worst manager and his accusation could even be sueable considering that he was wrongly accusing me of stealing. At that time I asked some members of the casino about his last name and apparently, he told everyone to not answer anything to any of us because all the members remained quiet.

I hope you take actions in this manner, check your ways on how to handle misplacement of orders, payment processes in the bar, how to place orders so it could be more efficient and get to teach the manager and staff proper ways to treat customers, think how many people might have experienced this situation and how many customers the casino might have lost in the past reducing the revenues of the establishment.

Thank you for your time and the worst evening I have ever experienced in my life. This is the first time I am kicked out...

Quality London casino in the West end. Took a trip here from China town on the razz looking for some action. Beautiful decor, neo-art deco style; reminsant of the cruise ships of the 19 30's. Gorgeous. Very nice bar,drinks about par for Soho area in price, staff really professional and courteous. Even the door staff were pleasant. ..that's a first 😊 Tasty joint...very classy but not overly that you felt uncomfortable. Lovely balance that. Also some very hot ladies around the gaff, especially around the roulette tables. Played some cards.....poker is my poison but tried a little blackjack and scored well 😃

Lots of slots if you like that (I don't ) roulette and baccarat etc. Though quite small never felt too crowded Busy but you don't feel smothered.

Played til the early hours (3am😪) Wonderful.......... Not the best casino I have been to,there are better in Bangkok Milan and Singapore which I've played; but this has a very British period vibe...without all the 1970's gaudiness of Vegas.(which is fine.......in Vegas........ but seems tacky somewhere else)

Personally my fav was always Aspinals in the UK, subjective of course, but this is almost as good... .almost. However........

Its a very respectable place, very professional and the tables are well organised and have excellent dealers. Just to highlight, dealers here were especially good for somewhere that's outside Vegas or Monaco.....kudos there. Had a pleasant result at the end of my session playing, in more ways than one. Shame I didn't do a speiler... Omaha or some 7 card stud, would have taken them for more 😆

Anyway ,walked out 700 quid flush,and very wasted, with a very nice young asian (Taiwanese) girl.....so back to the holiday Inn and game on......bosh! 😊 Bet called...raised...ha ha.......full house👍

Not bad considering I had only about 100 notes in my sky rocket when I trundled in.

Love ,love ,adore this part of London; China town Shaftesbury Ave all the theatres and top bars clubs etc... so location is fantastic. Atmosphere and ambiance is true heaven.

Will plan a return trip later this year after my hols in Thailand. Probably play the poker room next time. Go all in for a big balls out !

Highly recommended, a great night (😉)and a wonderful experience.(and the holiday Inn 😜)

Be lucky.....in love... ......in life......in cards ✌

EDIT As had such a good night and scored as well, both in the casino and later at the hotel....I have to give a prestigious 5* rating which from me is very highly coveted. An altogether fantastic night and a pleasure to have visited this casino.

Onward and...