š«š· Online Casinos for people in France
Short Summary: Providing the most up to date casino information, both land and online, RealMoneyAction is your one-stop website for any casino information that you could ever want for anywhere in the world.Ā On this page, we take a look at French Gaming laws and let players know what sorts of casinos and games they can expect to find in the country.Ā Linked pages include information for every land casino in France, and for those looking to play online, please consider a few choice casinos that we have here and have vetted for fairness of gaming and timely player payouts.
The country of France has a fairly liberal attitude towards gambling, at least, as compared to some states within the United States as well as some other countries.
However, the attitude of the French citizens towards gambling is a little bit different than that of people from the United States. Some people in the United States, especially depending on what state you are in, see making a visit to the casino as a major outing and will sometimes plan entire vacations around visits to the casino.
Of course, that is because the United States is home to such places as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, with both locales (as well as a few others to a lesser extent, such as Reno) being home to multiples large (sometimes giant) resort casinos that have endless supplies of different games to play, things to do, attractions and several restaurants per property.
Casinos in France, for the most part, are quite a bit different. For those who have access to local or regional casinos in the United States, which likely depends on which state you are located in, you can think of most French casinos as thatābut watered down.
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In point, most United States casinos, even the local or regional ones, are still going to have many hundreds of slot machines, if not something over a thousand. The majority of individual casinos in France, in fact, a very large majority, have somewhere between 50-200 total units. There are some casinos with more than 200, but that is the exception rather than the rule.
Even in local/regional casinos in the United States, most people would expect to find multiple bars as well as multiple restaurants and perhaps even a buffet. Once again, that is not true in most French casinos. While such casinos are required to have a restaurant (unless they are private clubs), most of them will have only one restaurant.
Another thing that visitors to casinos in the United States will be accustomed to is the fact that casinos are often open 24/7, though this changed a little bit with Covid-19 restrictions as some casinos closed for a few hours per night (in the early morning hours) during the pandemic and, for one reason or another, some individual casinos decided to keep it that way. In any event, most French casinos MUST close for a few hours in the early morning hours, and most of them do not tend to open until 9:00a.m. or 10:00a.m., something like that. There are a few casinos that seem to open back up earlier than that, but itās not common.
Casinos in France tend to have a proper name that goes (Casino) + (City or Region Name) rather than just being named different things such as United States casinos are. Of course, thatās not true of all casinos in France as some go by names such as Casino JOA, Casino Barriere, or other names, such as Casino 3.14 for one example.
On that topic, while many local casinos in France are independent, the majority of French casinos are owned by a casino company that will run many casinos across the country. Some of the biggest casino companies in France include:
JOA Casinos
JOA Casinos is a relatively large casino company that owns and operates a total of 33 casinos, as of the time of this writing, across France as well as one online casino that is also licensed to operate in the country.
One unique aspect of some JOA Casinos is that many of them will have a Partouche Tab, which we will discuss some of the individual characteristics of shortly. This is a unique gaming device upon which individuals may play one another in competitive games.
The propertyās website is called JOABET and mostly exists for the purpose of sports betting, which is not available in most land casinos in the country, so the primary way to engage in that is online. JOABET is a popular website that offers players frequent sports betting promotions and, more than that, has what is reputed to be a pretty decent live betting platform.
For the time being, JOA Casinos doesnāt seem to have much in the way of expansion plans and is happy with their current property portfolio, while not the largest, is it presently one of the largest casino ownership companies in France and their casinos can be found scattered across the country.
Barriere Casinos (Groupe Lucien Barriere)
Groupe Lucien Barriere operates casinos in France under the name Barriere Casinos. As of the time of this writing, by property count, they are the largest casino operator in the country and are also home to some of the larger casinosāwith a few in their portfolio having more than 300 machines (which is big, by French standards).
Barriere Casinos, in addition to public facing casino properties, also owns a wide variety of private gambling rooms, as well. With that, they are a bit diversified in what sort of properties they have, but it is actually the private gambling rooms that put them over the top of having the most locations at which to gamble in the country.
In addition to their casino holdings, Groupe Lucien Barriere also owns a number of hotels (which is what the company started out doing) as well as a few golf courses, tennis courts and other properties devoted to sports recreation.
The majority of French casinos owned by Groupe Lucien Barriere tend to be situated along the coast as well as in major cities and touristy areas. They have more than thirty public accessible casinos in the country and, as far as we can tell, about that number of private gambling rooms.
Iād like to tell you more about Barriere, but it would appear that the owner of their websites has blocked me from their websites, so I supposed we will stop there. I can certainly tell you what casinos I will NOT be visiting when I am in France if they are going to block me from accessing their sites for no good reason!
Circus Casinos
Circus Casinos is a smaller casino group that owns nine public-facing casino locations across France. This group has a players club that is designed so that players may use their points or rewards across any of these casinos.
Three of these casinos are located close to the coasts, with the remaining six being located in cities (one is in Switzerland) and the property also has a casino in the countryās capital of Paris.
This company also takes care to keep their slot floors relatively current in terms of offerings, but as most visitors who have been to casinos in the United States will notice, most casinos in France tend to be a generation or two (sometimes more) behind, by our standards. One thing that might surprise visitors from the United States is that the cabinets and main signage does not change typically, when we send machines to France, so you can expect most machines (other than on the actual screen) to still be in English.
You could have probably guessed this, but this casino group has nothing to do with Circus Circus casinos in Las Vegas or Reno and nothing to do with any American casino group with the word, āCircus,ā in it, past or present.
Golden Palace Casinos
Thatās right, they went ahead and took the name of another one time casino in the United States, but thatās okay, as we werenāt using that name anymore anyway.
Anyway, this group has several casinos across France, and in a few other countries, that will usually be called Golden Palace (Place Name), strangely, I couldnāt find anything on their website that would offer a simple text-based list of all of their French locations.
Overview on Locations
All told, there are some 200 casinos in France, but most of these are smaller locations that will consist of between 50-200 total slot and video poker machines. In fact, a casino with more than 200 machines would be considered larger than average in the country.
Most public casinos in the country will have live Table Games, though some do not. In most cases, the live table games will operate for a few hours starting in the middle or late evening.
If a casino does have live Table Games, which most do, the most popular games (in order) are Blackjack, English Roulette, Ultimate Texas Hold āEm, Boule 2000 and Texas Hold āEm (competitive poker).
If a given casino only has one live Table Game, then odds are itās either English Roulette, Blackjack or Boule 2000.
The vast majority of French casinos have electronic Table Games even if they donāt have any Live Table Games. By far, the most popular E-Tables are Blackjack and English Roulette, so most casinos will have one or the other, but any casino of any considerable size whatsoever will generally have both of these.
Differences Between French Games and United States Table Games
The first major difference in Table Games between the two countries is that most casinos in the United States will have a wider variety of Table Games, assuming, of course , that they have any at all. Itās somewhat rare for a French casino to have more than four or five different types of Table Games available, and most casinos generally only have Blackjack, English Roulette, or both.
While Baccarat can be found at some French casinos (Punto Banco), it is not as popular as some people might think. I think the reality of French casinos is considerably different from the expectations of people in the United States and people from the U.S. tend to think that French casinos are all of these huge buildings with everyone wearing suits and sipping martinis with wall to wall action, of course, nothing could be further from the truth.
What the French call, āEnglish Roulette,ā at least, as we would translate it, is only called that because players use different colored chips from one another. What the United Statesā casino put into place as a game protection measure to prevent past-posting, bet capping, bet pulling or other methods of cheating the French have decided to adopt and refer to as, āEnglish Roulette.ā
These English Roulette tables are not, āAmerican Roulette,ā in the sense of having two zeroes, as the English Roulette tables will still only have one zero. Furthermore, most English Roulette Tables will either offer half back on an Even Money bet lost to the zero, or alternatively, will have the imprisonment rule.
Other than that, there are no functional differences in play.
Another popular game, at least, game that the casinos are probably hoping will become popular is Boule, sometimes called Boule 2000. The way that this game works is that the available numbers to bet upon are 1-9, of which players can either bet on an individual number or multiple individual numbers. Additionally, there are quick ways to bet on entire groups of numbers, which are inclusive to the high numbers or low numbers.
In any event, the House Edge for every possible bet a player can make at Boule is 11.11%, which is obviously terrible, so we would recommend avoiding Boule entirely.
One low House Edge game that has spread to France and was 100% invented here is that of Ultimate Texas Hold āEm, which is shortened to Ultimate Poker, or, more appropriately, āPoker Ultime,ā in the country. That game follows the same exact rules as the versions of the game that you will find in the United States and also sometimes has Royal Flush progressives which, of course, are generally best avoided due to the high house edge.
Aside from that, most of the games in France can be found in the United States and vice-versa. In addition to Baccarat, you may also find Sic Bo in many of the larger French casinos, which makes that a little bit more popular than it is in the United States as it would be very rare to find in a U.S. casino.
There are several casinos in France that also have a Partouche Table.
Partouche Tables are interesting competitive digital games that people play against one another with many mini-games available. Some of the games involve trying to shoot poker cards in order to make the best poker hand, or sometimes to steal cards to prevent your opponent from making a hand, as quickly as possible. Other games involve trying to build shapes or collect different cards or pictures faster than your opponent.
In one way or the other, most of the Partouche games rely upon strong hand eye coordination, recognition and quick movements.
Back to Casino Differences
As we have discussed, the majority of casinos in the United States are larger than the majority of those that you will find in France. In both instances, most casinos are going to have at least one restaurant with U.S. casinos (mostly owing to being much bigger anyway) significantly more likely to have multiple restaurants than are French casinos.
One big difference between France and many United States casinos, depending on the state in question, is that you can expect to pay for your drinks in France. Generally speaking, smoking will not be allowed on the casino floors in France, however, some casinos do have smoking sections and, more rarely, machines that are situated outside where people may choose to smoke.
Individuals who have played in the United States are probably used to at least one restaurant in a given casino being open during most hours of the day, but thatās not exactly the case in France. While there are some exceptions, most casino restaurants in France have lunch service hours and dinner service hours (with each being anywhere from 2-4 hours), so those are the durations during which one can go in and eat a full meal.
Of course, thatās true of most French restaurants even outside of the casinos, as the restaurants tend to close so they can spend a few hours cleaning up and prepping for dinner. Even many of the lower priced restaurants in France, including those in casinos, serve meals over a few different courses, so this goes along with that.
Brief Overview Of Gambling In France
Given the fact that there are nearly 200 casinos in the country, a person could be forgiven for believing that the Government has an extremely liberal attitude towards gambling. Another factor that might lead someone to believe such a thing is the fact that the country legalized and regulated (to an extent) online gambling back in 2010, which is earlier than any state in the United States did it. ā
The truth is that the Government is actually fairly restrictive on gambling, compared to some states in the United States, though less restrictive than in others. For one thing, the Government has to specifically authorize casinos to have most Table Games and does not tend to authorize very many, they also regulate the size of casinos and how many casinos a given city or region may have, so everything about it is tightly regulated.
We suppose one thing that is fairly liberal about French casinos compared to the United States is that an individual must only be 18 to gamble in a French casino, as opposed to the usual 21.
Similarly to most United States casinos, children are allowed to eat in the restaurants and visit the theater or arcade in a casino (if the property has any) as long as they can access it without stepping upon the casino floor which, again, someone must be eighteen years old to enter.
When it comes to playing the machines, the majority of French slot machines are ticket-in ticket-out and redemption machines are virtually unheard of, people will want to go to the cage to cash their tickets. In fact, people go to the cage to buy tickets to put into most of the machines in the first place! There are occasionally coin-dropping traditional slot machines in a few of the countryās casinos, but that is quite rare. You can get some deep detail on French gambling laws here, but we will hit on some of the finer points.
Of course, regardless of what the regulations are in France, you can usually find at least one U.S. State that has something close to that. For example, individual private card rooms can sometimes be authorized by the French Government, and while the ones in New Hampshire are not private, these card rooms are similar to what one may find in New Hampshire.
In terms of size, the casinos in France are comparable to some of the smallest casinos in the United States. For those who have been, casinos such as can be found at some small resorts such as Lady Luck Nemacolin, Rocky Gap Maryland or Valley Forge Pennsylvania (if you have ever been to any of those) would be probably still a little larger than most French casinos!!!
French casinos, especially localsā ones, are often just a little bit bigger than most casinos that would be found in the state of Montana, which are essentially just bars with some machines. Of course, most French casinos tend to have at least one live table game (though there are exceptions), so perhaps the casinos located in Deadwood, South Dakota would make for the best size comparisons to most casinos in France.
Similarly, other than the fact that they might have some table games that the Oklahoma casinos might not, you can find several Tribal Casinos in the State of Oklahoma with slot counts that would be similar to most French casinos, although, some Oklahoma tribal casinos are much bigger than the ones in France, so it depends.
For those of you who have been to Downtown Las Vegas, something like the Golden Gate Casino would be a good size comparison to many French localsā casinos, although, the Golden Gate has a much larger Table Games area than you will find in most French properties.
There is a limited online gambling in France, which mostly consists of legal sports betting and is regulated by the ANJā¦a regulatory body that was created in 2020 to replace the previous regulatory agency. That said, some level of online gambling has been legal since 2010.
Online Gambling in France
Both land and online French casinos are required, similar to most United States casinos, to offer telephone numbers on most of their information for people who need help with excessive gambling. Additionally, a person can also self-exclude from casinos and will be placed on a list that covers the entire country, similar to the way an individual can self-exclude from all casinos in any given individual state of the United States. In the United States, excluding from a state might cross to casino properties in other states (as all casinos owned by a specific company might share this information), but unlike France, there is no national exclusion list as individual states are responsible, in the United States, for their own gambling laws.
In addition to sports betting, online gambling in France (at least, licensed and regulated) extends also to racing events, such as horse racing and online poker. That is the totality of all games allowed, so unlike some individual U.S. States *states such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan are good examples) there are no specifically licensed and regulated casino online products in France. Most companies that offer online gambling, which is usually just sports and race betting, in the country also have land casino interests.
Every location for land-based gambling in the country, whether private card room or public-facing casino, must be specifically licensed and approved by the French government. The government also prefers not to have what they consider to be too many locations in a given area, which is why you will not really see the equivalent of United States gambling meccas, such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, anywhere in the country.
Poker is generally considered acceptable across the country as the country considers it a game that relies upon skill to a greater degree than luck.
When it comes to individual types of poker and table games, however, the country is very tight in regulations and will only authorize specific games to be played. While this is also true of most U.S. states, most states within the United States authorize a wider variety of Table Games than does France, and some states even specifically default their lists to anything that is authorized in Nevada.
Greyhound/Dog racing was once a popular, āSport,ā in France, but that is no longer the case. According to Grey2K, there were only 71 race meeting events held across the entire country in 2012. I havenāt been able to find anything on any dog races in the last couple of years, so it might even be possible that France made it illegal (other sites have a list of countries where it is legal and France is not listed), or alternatively, it seems to have mostly died on its own. At this point, most states in the United States have either made it illegal or it has died on its own.
In fact, the only two U.S. States with live greyhound racing, as of the time of this writing, are Arkansas and West Virginia. In West Virginia, two of their land casinos are forced to supplement the greyhound industry with what is called a, āBreeders fund,ā so until the state legislature changes that, which may tackle a while because many of the politicians seem to have a suspicious affinity to the greyhound racing industry, it will eventually be the only state in which this barbaric and pointless, āSport,ā that relies on the mistreatment of dogs still takes place.
Horse racing remains legal and somewhat popular in the country, arguably at least as popular as it is in the United States based on percentage of people interested, and there are many tracks in the country, which you can look into on this site.
When it comes to betting on the horse races, individuals in the country may either do that at the tracks themselves (which also have simulcasting of other tracks), or alternatively, there are a few websites that the French may use to bet on horseracing.
Actually, horseracing is arguably more popular than it is in the United States because, had they not added casino slot games and become racinos, a great many tracks in the United States would have closed long ago as there are only a few locations that offer ONLY live and simulcast horse racing (in the U.S.) and are still able to operate profitably. Even some of those without slot machines rely upon historical horse racing machines which, for all practical purposes, might as well be slot machines.
Unfortunately, we will not be listing every single horse racing track in the country because the country is already home to 200 casinos and/or private clubs, so we will be spending a ton of time and space talking about that. If you want to look for individual tracks to watch horse racing, then we recommend you check out the link above.
France separates their games into skill games and consideration games, as far as table games go. Poker is considered a skill game due to the fact that you play against others. Consideration Games are games in which a player plays against the house and there are presently somewhere between 25-30 games allowed, although, most casinos are going to have somewhere between 0-5 such games.
Club Games include Baccarat and private clubs may offer Club games as well as competitive poker games, such as Texas Hold āEm and others. Pragmatically speaking, most private clubs and casinos, if they have poker at all, will only have Texas Hold āEm, though there are some exceptions for the larger venues.
As we discussed earlier, more than half of the casinos in France are owned by one of five companies, though there are some individually owned locations. The larger casino-owning companies in the state will usually also have a website, which will primarily be for sports wagering and, to a lesser extent, betting on horses.
We will quote from the main source on slot machines:
Importing or manufacturing slot machines is prohibited under the Homeland Security Code. However, by way of exception, casinos can offer slot machines and other machines offering games of chance (together “slot machines” because their regulation is the same) if they offer at least one of the casino games mentioned in Article D.321-13. Slot machines are also regulated by the Order on the regulation of games in casinos (Order dated 14 May 2007).
The return rate to players applicable to slot machines cannot be less than 85% (Article R. 321-17, Homeland Security Code). The value of each unitary credit wagered in a slot machine is determined by the operator of the casino and communicated to the Minister of Home Affairs at least 15 days before the slot machine is made available to the public. Any modification of the return rate to players or the value of each unitary credit wagered must be communicated to the Minister of Home Affairs at least 15 days before implementing the modification.
For this reason, most casinos in France will offer at least one live Table Game, and if they donāt, will definitely have either electronic English Roulette, E-Blackjack, or both. They must have one of those games or they may not have slot machines, which is why you will not see a casino that has slot machines and nothing else.
Of course, slot machines are the most popular games, or video poker, in most French casinos. Itās for that reason that even the smaller casinos with Live Table Games only operate those, at least sometimes, for as little as four hours per evening. Oftentimes, itāll just be a croupier (In the United States, only Roulette Dealers are called, āCroupiers,ā but in France, that is the word to describe the dealer of any game) standing at an empty table for a little bit.
As you can see, all slot machines in France are to return a minimum of no less than 85% to their players. From a practical standpoint, most casinos will return in excess of 90% on most of their machines and some casinos even advertise the total return of the slot floor.
The slot machines in France, other than at the busiest casinos, tend to be anywhere from two to three generations behind those that you might see in the United States. Of course, that might be a boon for some visitors from the United States who may run into an old favorite machine that they havenāt seen in awhile! Some slot floors are newer than others and, generally speaking, you can get an idea for how busy a place is by how new the slots are relative to North American casinos.
Much like the United States, a player can find variable-state games such as progressives, or even such as games like Ocean Magic, in the country of France. However, old-school traditional mechanical reel slot games also seem to be more popular in France than they are in the United States. Maybe people in France consider those to be more likely to be trustworthy than video slots, who knows?
Here are the types of land-based enterprise in the country:
The following gambling land-based products can be offered:
- Horse and greyhound betting.
- Sports betting.
- Lotteries.
- Casino games, poker and slot machines (in casinos).
- Club card games (including poker) and games of chance (pool, baccarat) (in gaming clubs).
The lotteries and physical sports betting locations run through a monopoly that is licensed by the Government, so in essence, the lotteries and physical sports betting locations operate the same way that they do in some individual U.S. statesāespecially lotteries. Most states in the United States, with only a few exceptions, only have sports betting in physical casinos, at kiosks located within physical casinos, or online betting on websites that have ties to some physical casino in the state.
France is different to the extent that the lotteries and sports betting locations, at least, for physical sports betting, are all operated by a single entity known as La FranƧaise des Jeux.
Thatās the reason why the land casinos may not have sports betting (in-person) that takes place in the casino, though some companies may have websites for the purpose of remote sports and horse race betting.
Generally speaking, the locations that have gaming clubs may only do so in those cities that do not have casinos, but there are exceptions to this. Because the Government decides upon the licensing for casinos, they determine how many casinos may be in a particular area, which is usually based on the population of that area or how much tourism it gets.
Most of the time, casinos in France will not be at 100% capacity, so it would seem that the French Government does a good job of licensing enough locations to meet demand. As we mentioned before, the French arenāt necessarily as eager to gamble as some residents of the United States are, as you can see from this study:
From 2000-2015, the gaming prevalence rate was nearly 80% in the United States and the problem gambling rate was nearly 5%. Thatās interesting because a great number of states have actually legalized and regulated gambling since then (such as Massachusetts and Virginia) and Virginia, a well-populated state, has not even started to get her casinos yet. More than that, most states that have online gambling in the United States now did not at the time that this study was conducted, so we would expect both the prevalence rate and problem gambling rate to be much higher in the United States now than it was then.
In contrast, the gambling proclivity in France, on average, would seem to be about 50% while the problem gambling rate is somewhere between 0.5-1%.
It would seem that the state of affairs is very balanced in France to the extent that gambling is convenient, but not exceptionally convenient and they mostly donāt have resort casinos that are huge destination properties.
On average, casinos in France tend to be much more brightly lit than those in the United States, and windows are much more common on casino floors, though there are some exceptions. Simply put, it would seem that the casinos and the country restricts the availability of gambling outlets, to some extent, and the casinos themselves also seem more interested in casual patrons who happen to gamble once in a while than they are in trying to create problem gamblersāwhich some casinos in the United States could be fairly accused of trying to do, though they wouldnāt admit it.
Another way of putting it is that gambling, in France, is kind of just something that some people do once in a while. The attitude towards it is similar to the way that some people in the United States might look at going bowling.
The private gambling clubs are operated by non-profit entities and exist in towns where some casinos do not. Quoting from the source, here are some of the other requirements:
Gaming clubs. To be licensed, gaming clubs used to have to be operated by a non-profit association.
However, a 2017 reform introduced a three-year experiment in Paris for gaming clubs. The company operating a gaming club must be incorporated in accordance with French law and its registered office must be in Paris. It must also designate a statutory auditor.
The application for temporary authorisation to operate a gaming club must be sent to the PrƩfet by post, in the form of two copies and in electronic form (Article 2, Order dated 13 September 2017).
The director and other members of the board of directors of the applicant must be approved by the Minister of Home Affairs on the condition that they do not hold elective office in Paris (Article 11, Order dated 13 September 2017).
Clubs can hire whoever they want, but all employees, regardless of their function, must be licensed before they start working. A similar licence application to the one for casino employees is required for gaming club employees (Articles 21 of Order dated 13 September 2017).
The main thing is that they are non-profit, and these locations mostly have Table Games and poker games as well as tending to be very small.
Unlike casinos in the United States, casinos in France will not generally extend players markers or loan them money with which to gamble. The reason for that is because gambling debts in France are not legally enforceable, with the only exception being players who pay for gambling chips with a check directly, in which event, those individual debts can be enforced (as writing a bad check) and the casinos may collect on that legally.
The slot machine returns tends to be pretty reasonable in France as, given the tax structure, casinos have to pay a lower portion of their slot revenues by way of tax than is the case in most United States jurisdictions, in fact, some states have their casinos pay taxes in excess of 50% of ALL slot revenues!
First, the state receives a progressive tax on a casino’s gross gambling revenue (a 25% deduction first being made from the gross gambling revenue before applying the tax), and then 10% of that tax is paid back to the local authorities.
The following illustrates the gross gambling revenue and the tax bracket applicable to it (Article D2333-74, General Local Authorities Code (GLAC)):
Up to EUR100,000: 6%.
Between EUR100,001 and EUR200,000: 16%.
Between EUR200,001 and EUR500,000: 25%.
Between EUR500,001 and EUR1 million: 37%.
Between EUR1,000,001 and EUR1.5 million: 47%.
Between EUR1,500,001 and EUR4.7 million: 58%.
Between EUR4,700,001 and EUR7.8 million: 63.3%.
Between EUR7,800,001 and EUR11 million: 67.6%.
Between EUR11,000,001 and EUR14 million: 72%.
Over EUR14 million: 83.5%
Added to this tax is a tax imposed by the city in which the casino is established, defined in the agreement between the town and the casino and which cannot exceed 15% of the gross gambling revenue.
Finally, casinos are also subject to the following social contributions:
CRDS: 3% of the gross gambling revenue.
CSG: 11.2% applied on 68% of the gross gambling revenue for slot machines and 13.7% on any winnings paid to the players equal to or exceeding EUR1,500.
As you can see, the casinos are taxed progressively on the amounts that they have brought in. This is a good system because it also gives small casino companies the ability to compete with larger ones as they do not have to worry about paying ridiculous tax percentages if their revenues are not that high. Also, it would appear that 25% of a casinoās gross slot revenues are excused from reporting for this tax right off the top.
From a tax percentage standpoint, this actually benefits having a smaller casino as opposed to a larger one. At the time that a casino has hit the top of the scale, they are paying more than 83.5% (in total) in the form of taxes, aside from the 25% that is excused off the top, so thereās really very little benefit to being a huge casino, so most are small ones. Also, people arenāt as likely to gamble in France as they are in the United States, so most casinos wouldnāt garner the revenues to justify being bigger than they are.
Gambling Club taxes breakdown as follows:
Gaming clubs. Special tax rules apply to gaming clubs. The revenues of gaming clubs are gathered in the form of a pot (cagnotte) that is composed of the gross gaming revenue generated by the clubs.
The tax rate varies depending on the bracket of annual revenue, as provided for by Article 1560 of the French Tax Code.
10% for revenue between EUR0 and EUR100,000.
30% for revenue exceeding EUR100,000 and less than or equal to EUR1,500,000.
40% for revenue exceeding EUR1,500,000 and less than or equal to EUR2,600,000.
55% for revenue exceeding EUR2,600,000 and less than or equal to EUR5,500,000.
70% for revenue above EUR5,500,000.
Paris. Article 34 of Law 2017-257 provided for the experimental trial in Paris of gaming clubs for three years as from 1 January 2018. Parisian gaming clubs are subject to a specific progressive tax based on the net proceeds of the games (a 30% deduction first being made from the gross proceeds before applying the tax). (See Question 5, Duration of licence and cost: Gaming clubs).
The tax rate varies depending on the bracket of net proceeds as follows:
5% for proceeds less than or equal to EUR100,000.
15% for proceeds exceeding EUR100,000 and less than or equal to EUR400,000.
25% for proceeds exceeding EUR400,000 and less than or equal to EUR700,000.
30% for proceeds exceeding EUR700,000 and less than or equal to EUR1,200,000.
35% for proceeds exceeding EUR1,200,000 and less than or equal to EUR1,800,000.
40% for proceeds exceeding EUR1,800,000 and less than or equal to EUR2,600,000.
45% for proceeds exceeding EUR2,600,000 and less than or equal to EUR3,500,000.
50% for proceeds exceeding EUR3,500,000 and less than or equal to EUR4,500,000.
55% for proceeds exceeding EUR4,500,000 and less than or equal to EUR5,500,000.
60% for proceeds exceeding EUR5,500,000 and less than or equal to EUR7,000,000.
65% for proceeds exceeding EUR7,000,000 and less than or equal to EUR9,000,000.
68.50% for proceeds exceeding EUR9,000,000 and less than or equal to EUR11,500,000.
70% for proceeds exceeding EUR11,500,000.
Similarly to the horse racing tracks, we will not be listing all of the gambling clubs in France because there are already some 200 individual casinos that we will be covering. In any event, if you are in a small French town and cannot find a casino for it in our listings, then there is a very good chance that there is a card club in that town that you could Google for.
Online Gambling
In terms of online gambling, casino websites are often owned and operated by companies that also own physical casinos in the country and are licensed by an entity that itself was created and is licensed by the French Government.
The only forms of online gambling that are specifically licensed and regulated would include horse racing betting, sports betting and online poker. Any other form of online gambling is otherwise not permitted in the country, so as such, there are no casino products (such as table games or Roulette) online.
Of course, there are some providers outside of France who are willing to offer their services to French citizens, and a few of them can be found here:
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Lottery/sports/racing
In France, Lottery and Sports Betting in-person is all licensed to a single company, which has a monopoly, by the French Government. They pay a percentage of their revenues on all of these activities to the Government. While they have no land competition, they do have some competition for online sports betting.
Anyway, these types of gambling are available at various locations across the country. Itās fair to say that sports betting is a bit more widespread than it might be in the United States, but thatās mostly owing to the fact that a great many individual states would have sports betting be illegal. Even those states in which it is legalized, unless they have online sports betting (which France also does) then it tends to be limited to land casinos, which are fewer in location than locations in which you can bet on sports in France.
Race betting, typically on horses, can be done either online or at the track both by way of live action or betting on simulcast. Horse racing tends to be a bit more popular in France than it is in most U.S. states as many French race tracks seem to do well enough while the vast majority of ones in the United States would have failed long ago had they not become racinos, or, at a minimum, authorized to have historic horse racing terminals.
Finally, the French Lottery is run by a single entity with availability that is comparable to that of most states in the United States. That said, in terms of average spend per citizen, United States lotteries tend to pull way more in revenues than you would find the French lottery doing. Of course, France doesnāt have games that have nearly the jackpots that you would see in national U.S. drawing games such as Powerball and Mega Millions, which is where a large percentage of U.S. lottery spending comes from.
Lotteries are permitted for charitable purposes.
As far as social gambling is concerned, that is permitted as long as there is no money involved. There are also no apparent restrictions on friends gambling with one another as long as there is no house edge being taken with anything.
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Land Casino in France
Casino Agon-Coutainville
Casino Agon-Countainville, which is usually just shortened to Casino Coutainville, is a land-based casino located Rue Du President Roosevelt 50230, Agon, Coutainville.
The Casino Coutainville is a small casino that consists of roughly 75 slot machines, one electronic Table Game that translates to, āElectronic English Roulette,ā and has eight seats, as well as two Blackjack Tables and one unit called Partouche Tab.
Partouche Tab
We will not go into great detail on Partouche Tab machines (unless some are substantially different), but we should likely explain them for those readers who will be unfamiliar with them.
Partouche Tab machines are competitive gambling devices in which skill predominates over chance as a factor and individuals will compete with their friends, or make new friends to compete with and try to best them.
These Partouche Tables are interactive digital games that will feature a wide variety of mini-games. Some of these mini-games include a Bingo-based game in which players will compete to make combinations in order to achieve the highest score.
Other mini-games include what would loosely translate to, āCasino Sniper,ā which is a game that requires knowledge of poker rankings and quick reaction time as players will attempt to make a better poker hand than their opponent by choosing the best cards that appear on the screen. In some variations of these games, players are also able to force their opponents to take a card that will hurt their hand, or try to stop them from achieving a specific hand rank that they appear to be going for.
With some of the poker-based games, a player must also try to balance making a high ranking poker hand with trying to prevent the opponent from making one. For example, a player may want to take a spade, even if they do not need a spade, if it will stop an opponent who is clearly going for a flush in spades and otherwise has nothing. Not all of the games work exactly like that, but some of them do, so occasionally a player needs to balance making a strong hand with preventing his or her opponent from doing so.
Other games include games that are based primarily on speed, such as trying to collect as many objects or colors as you can in order to outscore your opponent before time runs out. Other games might include trying to collect objects in order to create a line, or the largest possible object, that arenāt exactlyā¦but somewhat similar to the internet game where a player tries to build the biggest snake by gobbling up the other ones.
This casino is also home to a pub known as Restaurant Le Bistrot, which has a wide variety of selections for the whole family at economical prices. This restaurant is generally open only for dinner service in the evenings, but may have extended hours on occasion. With that, we will allow their website to describe the casino for itself, but please note, this translation may not be 100% accurate:
A must-see place in the region, the Coutainville casino invites you to entertain your friends and entertain yourself.
In addition to the 75 slot machines, the Boule 2000 table, the Black Jack table and the electronic English Roulette.
Enjoy the restaurant Le Bistrot, with formulas adapted to young and old.
Also, the Coutainville casino offers you diversity, elegance and charm for your receptions, seminars and other private or professional events with its L’Appart room.
A large reception capacity, a quality catering has been transmitted to you according to the rhythm of the seasons.
Everyone will find their pleasure according to their desires, so let yourself be surprised and come and experience a unique moment!
Basically, this is a small casino that is mostly going to be geared to appeal to locals, but if you happen to be in the area, it might be worth stopping in to check out the restaurant. More than that, the Partouche Tab is definitely going to be worth checking out if you have never played any of those games in a live casino setting before.
Pasino GRAND Dāaix-en-Province (Casino Dāaix-en-Province)
The Pasino GRAND Dāaix-en-Province literally translates to the Big Casino in Aix-en-Province and is located at 21 Avenue De Lāeurope 13626, Aix-en-Province. Of course, this is usually just shortened to Pasino GRAND, which means, āBig Casino,ā with emphasis on the BIG!
This is a fairly large casino by French standards and is home to more than 300 slot machines, several Electronic English Roulette Tables (130 total seats) as well as an electronic Blackjack game with seven seats.
In addition to those offerings, this casino is also home to fifteen live gaming tables, which include four English Roulette tables, three Blackjack tables, six Texas Hold āEm tables and a game that they call, āUltimate Poker,ā which Americans would recognize as Ultimate Texas Hold āEm. Finally, they have a game that they call La Bataille, which translates to, āThe battle,ā but Americans would recognize as the casino game that we call, āCasino War.ā
I have to give them credit where it’s due, the French names for these games actually roll off the tongue much better than ours do! Would you rather play a game called La Bataille, or Casino War? I especially like the (English-translated) description on their website as they encourage players not to find themselves short on money if they end up needing to go to war:
Casino War is really a very simple game, where the number of decisions is reduced. It is therefore ideal for those new to table games, or for players looking to relax. Another interesting point: the dealer and the player have the same probability of winning on the first card, 46.3% chance each. The player therefore often beats the bank, which is always exhilarating in a casino game. And when the action goes into battle, the adrenaline goes up a notch…
Strategy: Wait for the battle!
For Battle players, the difference can be made on the games where the player and the bank finish tied. If the player then decides to “battle”, he can bet again, and therefore win more if he wins this battle, twice as much as in a standard hand. It is therefore necessary to preserve your wallet in the standard games, to keep the possibility of betting again in the ābattlesā against the dealer.
Itās not often that the casino gives good playing advice directly on its own website. It should also be noted that a Table Game not need to be named āRouletteā for what we would call the dealer to be called the, āCroupier,ā as that is the French word that would describe what we would call the dealer, regardless of the game. I think thatās a little bit interesting in the sense that the proper name for a Roulette dealer, at least in the United States, is āCroupier,ā but they are called that in France regardless of the game in question.
One interesting thing about, āEnglish Roulette,ā is that you might assume that it means double-zero Roulette, but thatās actually not the case. The game they call, āEnglish Roulette,ā is not only played with only one zero, but they also have the half-back rule on Even Money bets if the number lands on zero. The main difference with English Roulette is that each player bets with chips of various colors, which are assigned a value that the player decides. Itās interesting that the French seem to have adopted this as a cosmetic change because the United States adopted the change for game protection purposes. The goal of making the players use non-standard casino chips was to thwart theft from other players, as well as cheating tactics such as past-posting, bet capping and other tactics such as the, āSavannah Move.ā
It would seem that Blackjack is another game where the casino would like players to knowā¦perhaps not basic strategy, but at least a basic strategy in advance:
Strategy: a real advantage
Black-Jack is a game where strategy is omnipresent. It is thus very easy to calculate its expected gain, and the basic strategies make it possible to limit the advantage of the bank. They are summarized below:
– Always draw a card with a total of cards equal to or less than 11.
– If you have a total of 10 or 11, double if the bank total is lower.
– In any case, you must not draw any more cards if you are at 18.
Hands including an Ace counted as 1:
– Do not shoot with a total of 17 or more.
– Hit with a total ranging from 12 to 16 inclusive if the open card of the bank is greater than or equal to 7.
Hands including an Ace counted as 11:
– Do not shoot with a total of 18 or more.
– Shoot with a total of 17 or less.
You can also choose whether it is good to double your bet or not. And it is often at this moment that the player has a real advantage.
I donāt think itās meant to say, āDo not shoot with a total of eighteen or more,ā but thatās just a problem with the translation. Anyway, as far as very basic strategy goes, all of this is correct except for the part where they suggest hitting on seventeen. Unless something about the rules is drastically different (there wasnāt anything that I could see from the description) you would not want to hit on a hard-17 hand total.
While infrequent, the Pasino GRAND is sometimes home to live Bingo, so you will want to check their website to see if there are any Bingo events upcoming. Additionally, this location, at least as of the time of this writing, features live weekly Texas Hold āEm tournaments, so feel free to check out their webpage for more specifics on that.
The property is home to a casino buffet known as the Grandioz, with hours and days of services, as of the time of this writing, as follows:
Find our buffets from Wednesday to Sunday evening included:
– Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings: from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. (35ā¬)
– Friday and Saturday evenings: from 7:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. (43ā¬)
– Sunday noon – Brunch (minors accepted): from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (35ā¬)
– Eve of public holidays: from 7:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. (35ā¬)
It would appear that minors are not permitted to go into the buffet, other than for Sunday Brunch. For the most part, this buffet looks substantially similar to what you would expect from a mid-grade Las Vegas Strip casino, so it should be pretty familiar.
Casino Grand Cercle (Casino Aix-Les-Bains)
The Casino Grand Cercle Aix-Les-Bains is located at 200 rue du Casino, 73100, Aix les Bains. This property opens for business at nine in the morning and stays open until 3:00a.m., except on weekends, when it is open for an additional hour.
This property is home to 220 slot machines, which they actually break down by category: 33 traditional reel slots, 141 video slot machines, 46 Video Poker machines and thirty-three Electronic Roulette devices. Possible bet amounts range from .01 all the way to 50, and they state that 40,000 is the most that can be won.
For those who have played in American casinos, most of the electronic games will be quite familiar to you and play much the same way with the only real difference being occasional changes in theme. In fact, most of the signage on the machines is in English, which makes sense, since the United States is the country in which many manufacturers are headquartered. In fact, many of their machines probably came from casinos that in the United States!
The property is home to No Limit Texas Hold āEm (one Table), one table of English Roulette, two Ultimate Texas Hold āEm tables and a Blackjack table. This casino also features occasional poker tournaments, so we would recommend checking their website for details if that is something that would interest you.
The property is home to three bars or lounges, which includes LāInsolite, which translates to, āThe Unusual,ā and features live bands, comedy and other acts. Naturally, you will want to check their website for more details if you are going to be in the area and plan to visit the property.
The propertyās restaurant is called Le Carre DāAs, and Iām not sure that the translation is exactly right on this one and Iām not sure what I should translate it to, even after consulting a French-English dictionary. Three years of high school French and I canāt figure out the name of a restaurant, oh well, it was twenty years ago. This restaurant appears to open for lunch a few hours a day, seven days per week, then closes and is open for dinner seven evenings per week, with extended hours on weekends.
If I had to guess, I would agree with Googleās translation that it translates to, āThe square of aces,ā but the main reason I doubt that is because that wouldnāt mean anything. If any skilled French speakers happen to see this, please feel free to let us know what the restaurantās name is supposed to mean! There is a picture of an ace of spades for the logo, so Iām pretty confident about that, I just donāt know where a square would come in. It could also mean something like, āThe Aceās Edge,ā but Iām just not sure.
Le Comptoir Gourmand isnāt exactly a restaurant, but it features sandwiches, snacks and other light fare. Additionally, they have taken an American concept as this is mainly a liquor bar located on the slot machine floor, so kudos to them!
Casino Fumades-les-Bains
The Casino Fumades-les-Bains is located at SOCAFUMA SAS, 30500, Allegre-les-Fumades. I should also like to note that a great many of these location names (and some other words) should have accents, which I might go back and put it if I can get backdoor editing privileges when this is published, but for the time being it would be very difficult to switch my keyboard setting from French to English and back every sentence.
In any event, this casino opened in the early 2000ās, which makes it one of Franceās younger casino properties. This property is also somewhat small, even by French standards, as it consists of only 75 total machines. Of these, 46 are video slot machines, eleven are traditional mechanical reel machines and eighteen are video poker machines.
Additionally, the property is home to 20, āStations,ā for Electronic English Roulette, which likely means that there are probably two devices. They have seven electronic Blackjack stations, so in all likelihood, that means that there is one actual E-Blackjack unit. Furthermore, there are two live Blackjack tables that begin operations at 21:00, so if thatās what you are looking for, then you wonāt want to arrive at the casino much earlier than that.
The property is home to one restaurant, called Cafe du Paris, which is open for lunch for a few hours from Wednesday-Sunday, then closes for a few hours, and is then open again for dinner service. This restaurant is accessible to individuals of all ages and features both indoor and outdoor dining.
As our non-French readers will see so far, there are many French casinos that are pretty small compared to what you may be used to in the United States, which is especially true if you have only visited Las Vegas (particularly the Strip), Atlantic City, or perhaps you live in an area where there is only one major casino near you. Many live in states such as Oklahoma or Montana, where it is not at all uncommon to see casinos of this size that consist of a restaurant and a handful of games, in fact, many places are considerably smaller.
In any event, going to a casino in France is not necessarily seen as a major experience. In the United States, itās also generally not seen as a major experience, unless a person is on holiday or taking a major trip, but for most U.S. residents, there is a small or moderately sized casino somewhere near us, so visiting it is not really seen as a big deal.
Of course, France was quicker than most of the states in the United States to legalize land casinos, in fact, many U.S. States still do not have land-based casinos and there are a few states who probably never will, such as Utah. France was also very forward in online gambling, given that they began the move to regulate and legalize it in 2005 and did legalize it in 2010, though with a few restrictions. Once again, this is something that is left up to the individual U.S. states, so it is unlikely that some states will ever allow for internet gambling, while several already have, though all of the ones who did were behind France in doing so.
Anyway, be prepared to read about a great many casinos similar to this one, as believe it or not, the country does not really have very many casinos that would rival those on the Vegas strip in size.
Casino dāAllevard
The Casino dāAllevard is located at 14 Av. des Bains, 38580, Allevard. What we are seeing is that most French casinos consist just of the word, āCasino,ā and the area in which the casino is located, so be prepared to see a great deal of that. On the one hand, it doesnāt seem terribly original, but on the other, itās better than having a half million casinos called, āHollywood Casino.ā At least the city names make them somewhat unique.
This property is operated by a company called, āCircus Casino,ā which is the operator for several casinos around France and has a players club program in which points can be used at any of their properties.
This property doesnāt seem to have a strict dress code, but they are quick to point out that anyone whom they consider improperly attired will be asked to leave.
This is a small casino, even by French standards, with the slot floor consisting of only fifty machines. The majority of these machines could be recognized by anyone who has gambled in the United States as being a few generations old. Once again, many slot machines make their way from the United States to France upon becoming outdated in U.S. casinos. In fact, the majority of the machines on the slot floor are such that the cabinet and main signage is all in English.
In addition to the slots, the property is home to one Blackjack Table that, as of the time of this writing, is open the following hours:
Traditional games are the pleasure of playing alone or with others. Against the dealer, it’s fun to bet and win!
A Black Jack table with a minimum bet of ā¬2 .
Open Sunday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., Monday to Thursday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. , Friday from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Please note that this is translated, so the wording might not be 100% perfect compared to what it says on the French site. In any event, it would seem that Blackjack is only open during the evening to later night hours, and only from the late evening on weekdays.
The property is also home to an Electronic English Roulette table with ten seats.
The propertyās restaurant is called the Carte du Restaurant Allevard and is moderately priced. We wouldnāt go as far as to call the food cheap, but itās reasonable enough that you can take the whole family there. They also have special options for younger kids that is very cheaply priced, so you wonāt have to drop too much of them.
The property is home to one bar, with outdoor seating when weather permits, and is open at 11:00a.m. daily.
The property is not exactly home to a hotel, but it does own a small hotel nearby that consists of ten rooms and offers wireless internet to all of its guests.
While the hotel is not directly on property, we do notice that this is the first casino in these listings to even promote a hotel. Of course, we think it unlikely for someone from out of the area to find any reason to make a special trip to this casino, so other than locals, people would mostly only come in here if they were in the area for some other reason anyway.
Casino dāAlvignac
The Casino dāAlvignac is a roughly average sized local casino property and is located at Rte. de Padirac, 46500 Alvignac. This is another example of the casino having a name that would just translate to something like, āThe Casino in Alvignac,ā or āAlvignac Casino,ā would be the more likely way that a casino in the United States would phrase it.
The website for this casino offers that there are about 75 slot machines, which consist of traditional reel machines, video slots and some Video Poker games. As with most of the other casinos in France, the slot floor will consist mostly of units that could have been found (or sometimes can still be found) in the United States two or three generations of machines ago.
The property is another one that is home to an electronic English Roulette unit, once again, just one of them. We should also mention that their website states that wearing a hat, or any other sort of headwear, is not allowed, so do expect to be asked to remove those prior to entering the building.
This property is also home to two Blackjack Tables, which do not open until 10:00p.m., but are open seven evenings per week. They will typically close at 2:00a.m., except are kept open for an additional hour on weekends. Their website also takes care to explain some of the rules of Blackjack, and it goes into a little bit of detail. In addition to describing the rules for doubling down and insurance (which you should never take), it also lets players know that they may split for up to three total hands, except Aces, which may only be split once and may not be hit.
This property also allows surrender at their Blackjack tables, however it would appear that the dealer does not check for Blackjack in this casino, so players who have played in the United States with a knowledge of basic strategy should know that some of the surrender situations change when the dealer does not check for Blackjack.
The property is home to a small restaurant and brewery that is open for lunch from 12:00-14:00 and also conducts dinner service from 19:00-22:00. This restaurant is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and its offerings are very economical in price, so, if you need something to eat, thereās really no reason to leave the casino.
Additionally, the property has a stand with grab and go food options such as vegetable cups, paninis and little pizzas. With that, even if you get hungry when the restaurant is not engaged in lunch or dinner service, youāll still be able to get something to tide you over anytime that the casino is open.
Other than on weekends, if you are having a convention, birthday or any other group gathering, you may actually call and reserve the entire restaurant for as many as forty people. For that reason, this might be a popular little casino for business meetings, day corporate retreats, or things of that nature. On the other hand, there isnāt really a great diversity of games, so maybe this restaurant doesnāt get booked for that purpose very often. Rates will vary depending upon headcount, so if you are interested, you will have to call the property.
This casino occasionally features free concerts and some unique food events, so if you are going to want to plan your visit for when something along those lines is going on, then you may check out their upcoming event schedule here.
Casino Tranchant AmnevilleāSeven Casino
The Casino Tranchant Amneville is located at Parc du Coulange, Rue de lāEurope, 57360 Amneville. The casinoās nickname is Seven Casino, which is how it will typically be referred to by locals, of course, if youāre in Amneville and you ask for the casino, then someone could probably just tell you.
The entrance to the casino even says, āSeven Casino,ā with the words in blue followed by a red, ā7,ā that is written with a kind of lightning style font. If you didnāt know you were in France, then you might think you were walking into a really small American casino. The building itself looks like it could be anything, with the entrance (other than the fact that it says casino) looks like it would be to an indoor plaza that has only two or three stores.
The property is owned by a small casino group that owns a few different properties in France.
The property is home to a hotel that, and this is not a translation into English, is called the, āGolden Tulip.ā The hotel itself is not what you would call small, as the building consists of seven floors. For those of you who have stayed in hotel rooms in the United States, we would consider this hotel as being reminiscent of a decent limited service hotel, perhaps something along the lines of a Hampton Inn or Cambria Suites. The only thing to note is that some of the rooms might be smaller than people who visit or live in the United States are used to, but they are very clean and modernly appointed with decent sized flat screen TVās. The hotel is home to a breakfast room called the Ellipse Room, so those who are staying on property wonāt have to go anywhere for breakfast.
Furthermore, the Golden Tulip is home to two conference rooms, but if something larger is needed, it can effectively be used as one very large conference room. That makes this hotel and casino property ideal for small to moderately sized meetings and conventions, which is also the primary guest that the hotel is trying to attract. The propertyās hotel is also home to an arcade, fitness center and small spa.
The Seven Casino is a larger than average casino consisting of about 340 slot machines, which is on the higher end of slot counts by French casino standards. By United States standards, this casino would be considered remarkably small, youād usually only see a casino this size in states with a bunch of tribal casinos, or a state like Montana where they are really just kind of glorified slot parlors. The property is home to eight gaming tables which consist of Blackjack, Roulette and Boule.
I certainly wasnāt familiar with Boule, but as it turns out, the Wizard of Odds has already taken a look at this game:
Assuming that the rules are the same, every possible bet would have a House Edge of 11.11%, so for that reason, this game should be completely avoided in favor of either the Blackjack or Roulette. Thatās especially true in France as the Roulette only has a single zero , and more than that, either an imprisonment rule or half-back rule on Even Money bets, thereby lowering the House Edge on those to under 2%.
As of a few years ago, the property was home to eight Texas Hold āEm tables, but the propertyās website does not state the Table count, so if the game is important to you, then you might want to call to see how many tables there are and the times during which games usually take place. Again, as of a few years ago, the property had regular poker tournaments, but I donāt know if that is still true as their website doesnāt say anything about it.
Here is what Restaurant Guru has to say about Seven Casinoās restaurant, because once again, they really donāt say that much about it on their own website:
Scheduling your trip, pay attention to Aquarium d’Amneville and remember to choose where to eat: this bar is right aside the mentioned attraction. If you are fond of French cuisine, visit Casino Tranchant AmnĆ©ville | Seven Casino. Try perfectly cooked fillet steaks, foie gras and entrecote at this place. If hungry, come here for good parfait, fruitcake and brioches. Based on the visitors’ opinions, waiters offer delicious wine or good champagne. Great coffee is what can make you come back to this spot.
Casino AndernosāCasino Partouche de Miami
Casino Andernos is just another instance of the casinoās proper name referring to the fact that it is a casino and where the property is located. The location of this property is km 4 avenue de Bordeaux 33510 Andernos-les-bains This casino is much better known as Casino de Miami, which we would obviously just say, āMiami Casino.ā This is somewhat interesting as there is a casino in the State of Florida called, āCasino Miami,ā though obviously, the two casinos have absolutely nothing to do with one another.
This is another example of a small locals casino as the casino floor consists of only about 75 slot machines. The property also features three Electronic Tables upon which both Roulette and Blackjack can be played, in fact, you can play them both simultaneously if you want to. There are only two live Table Games at this property and those consist of Blackjack and English Roulette. Finally, the property is home to one Partouche Table, which is a digital competitive game with a great many individual game options that we discussed, at-length, in an earlier listing.
The propertyās restaurant and bar is called the Miami Casino Bistrot, and it is open for dinner service five evenings per week beginning at 19:00. Snacks are available at the restaurant anytime the casino is open and guests should keep in mind that there is no dinner service on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
That does it for this casino, and as you can see, this property is mostly meant to cater to locals or people who just happen to be in the area. Obviously, this is not a property that you would build an entire trip around visiting.
Casino Imperial Annecy
The Casino Imperial Annecy, sometimes shortened to just Casino Imperial, is located at 1 All. de l’ImpĆ©rial, 74000 Annecy, France.
With regard to the casino floor, we would say that the offerings are such that you wouldnāt call it a small casino, but nor could you really call it a big casino. Here is what their website (translated) has to say about the slot machine floor:
165 gaming stations await you from 10 am: Reels, Video Reels, Pokers, Electronic Roulettes . The Annecy Casino is equipped with progressive, interactive, special effects or simply classic machines to spend a fun time in a completely renovated contemporary decor. There is something for everyone…
You can play our slot machines and electronic games by inserting a ticket or TITO game ticket. Our teams are available at any time at the casino cashier to change the money you want. Three ATMs are also at your disposal within the
In this case, they refer to themselves as the Annecy Casino!
The Table Games pit, at least to whatever extent it can be called a pit, consists of four gaming tables and spreads Ultimate Texas Hold āEm, Blackjack and Roulette. The table games area opens nightly at 20:00, so if you are only interested in the Tables, then there is no reason to arrive at the casino before that time.
Finally, there are three electronic gaming stations, which consist of English Roulette and Blackjack, which are home to 29 seats.
This property is home to a sizeable hotel called the Imperial Palace, which might sound like quite a familiar name to old-school Las Vegas Strip visitors. Of course, even if that property still did exist, as such, we would imagine that they wouldnāt have a problem with a less than mid-sized casino in France using the same name.
One unique feature of this casino/hotel property is the fact that they have a small open air outdoor gaming terrace. The terrace consists of a handful of machines, but is a convenient spot for those who would prefer to smoke whilst spinning the reels.
The propertyās restaurant is known as Riva and is an Italian restaurant that is situated to overlook Lake Annecy. The restaurant has this (translated) to say about itself:
Located in the Rotonde, Le Riva is the ideal place in the casino where you can eat in peace during the day. From 8 p.m., the restaurant is immersed in the atmosphere of traditional games…
In a cozy, chic and contemporary decor, with pastel-coloured furniture, it offers cuisine with Italian flavors but also traditional, refined and tasty. Its menu changes with the seasons to offer you fresh, local and tasty products.
Thanks to its large bay windows, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of Lake Annecyā¦
The restaurant has both lunch and dinner service hours seven days per week. The prices are pretty average for a casino property restaurant, so they wonāt break the bank. The property is also home to a bar/lounge area and, while there are no bartop machines, there are a few machines located inside of the bar area.
The Imperial Hotel overlooking the lake is a very modern and just shy of extremely high-end hotel. It is perfect for hosting birthdays, conventions or other major events. The lakefront location makes this an ideal place to vacation for anyone, of course, that ideal location is also going to come with a price.
The hotel describes itself thus:
Located in the heart of an exceptional site in the idyllic environment of the city of Annecy, the Imperial Palace, a 4-star hotel, offers a breathtaking view of Lake Annecy. As soon as you arrive, its majestic “Belle Ćpoque” facade opens its doors to you and welcomes you in an enchanting setting: the public park ”Charles Bosson” populated by secular species, a collection of roses and flower beds, between lake and mountainsā¦ Located a few minutes from the city center of the “Little Venice of the Alps”, in Haute-Savoie, and only 30 minutes from Geneva airport, our hotel is the place to be for a stay on the banks from Lake Annecy.
Throughout the year, our 4-star establishment guarantees you a very luxurious stay in one of the 90 rooms and 14 top-of-the-range suites, with a view of the lake and the mountains or the adjoining park: a setting rejuvenating, promise of an incomparable experience!
Features include wireless internet, flatscreen TVās and a spa and relaxation center. Honestly, the casino itself primarily exists as a hotel amenity more than it exists for its own sake, by which we mean that there would be a lot to go through if we wanted to cover everything about the hotel. For that reason, we will simply direct you to the hotelās website here and would strongly recommend that you check them out if you need a place to stay in the Lake Annecy area.
Casino dāAnnemasse
The Casino dāAnnemasse is another example of a casino that just named itself after the location in which it is located. Speaking of locations, you can find this casino at 2 Av. de l’Europe, 74100 Annemasse, France. But for the signage that says, āCasino,ā on the building, you wouldnāt know what was in the placeāit really could be anything.
One thing that you will notice is that the interior of the casino is much louder than most other French casinos. For one thing, the lights are quite dim, but even with that, there are a bunch of clashing colors, flashing lights, eclectic artwork and all kinds of other stuff going on. If this casino resembled anything, I would say that it would resemble a United States locals casino that is trying to copy what a six year old might think that the inside of a Las Vegas Strip casino looks like.
The property is home to more than 170 total slot machines that consist of video slots, traditional reels and video poker games. With that sort of slot count, as we compare to other French casinos, we would conclude that the casino floor is on the lower end of averageā¦in terms of offerings.
One thing that we would point out, however, is that the main casino floor is jam packed with not a ton of room between machines, or even between rows. If nothing else, I guess, from the casinoās point of view, it gives the illusion of the place being bigger (in terms of number of machines) than it actually is.
The property is home to a total of three electronic gaming devices that feature English Roulette and Blackjack. In total, there are 37 seats available. The electronic games are kind of set aside from the main floor, so are located in a much quieter area.
In terms of traditional Table Games, this property is home to six gaming tables, which is probably more than average, by France standards. Games include Blackjack, English Roulette, Ultimate Texas Hold āEm (one table) and No Limit Texas Hold āEm, which also has one table.
The property is home to The Patio Restaurant (translated) which is a small restaurant that is open for lunch and dinner service, except on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The menu is somewhat limited, but the food is fine and the prices are pretty much what you would expect from a casino. The next restaurant is called Drakkar, which translates to, āLongship,ā and mostly functions as a bar. In addition to the libations, the Drakkar also sells pizzas, sandwiches and other grab and go types of snacks.
Thatās everything that you need to know about Casino dāAnnemasse, which is probably worth visiting if you are in the area, but is definitely not the sort of place that you would plan a trip around. The only real difference between this oen and some other French localsā casinos is that this one has roughly twice as many machines to choose from as some others do, oh, and also that the decor is extremely loud.
Casino Joa Antibes Las Siesta
The Casino Joa Antibes Las Siesta is another French casino that exists mostly to cater to locals and it is located at 2000 route du Bord de Mer 06600 ANTIBES.
In terms of casino offerings, the property is home to roughly 150 combined traditional slot, video slot and video poker units. Perhaps more than some other properties, the video slot games that you will find at this property, at least many of them, are relatively current. While most casinos in France tend to be a few generations of slot machine behind (by United Statesā standards, anyway) some of these machines could be considered to be from the current generation.
Additionally, the property is home to an Ultimate Texas Hold āEm table, as well as live Roulette and Blackjack tables during certain hours of the day. In addition to the live Roulette and Blackjack, the property is home to the electronic versions of those games, as well. Some might prefer the electronic versions as the minimum bet is generally lower, but even if not for that reason, those electronic terminals obviously operate even when traditional tables are not.
In terms of entertainment, this property sits just off of the beach and is home to a beach club lounge that features DJās and food during the hotter months of July and August, so that would be a great time to plan a visit to this property should you happen to be in the area anyway.
In addition to the casino, there are many other things to do in this area, such as scuba diving. Conveniently enough, the casino also links to a number of the hotels in the area, so finding a place to stay should not be terribly difficult.
The propertyās restaurant is known as LāComptoir JOA dāAntibes and it is open for both lunch and dinner service seven days per week. This particular restaurant is slightly more pricey than most other casino restaurants in France, but not to the point of being unreasonable. More than that, whatever daily special they have going on is generally pretty cheap, at least, as of the time of this writing.
The casino is also home to a single bar that is located just off of the casino floor, but it does not have any bartop units. In fact, most casino bars in France seem not to.
Once again, this is pretty much just a locals casino or would be a place to visit if you happen to be in the area anyway and want something to do. Much as with most casinos in France, youāre not going to build a trip around going to this casino, except you might build a weekend around if it if you are from France or one of the countries near that side of France.
What we will say is that the outdoor bar sounds like it could be fun in the Summer months when there is a DJ spinning tracks at the property. We would highly recommend that you visit the property when that is going on, grab a bite to eat and see if any of the games on the casino floor might interest you. As we have mentioned, for those of you who have played in some of the larger United States casinos, you will recognize many of the slot machines as being reasonably current.
Casino dāArcachon
The Casino dāArcachon translates to, you guessed it, the Casino Arcachon or Arcachon Casino, however you might prefer it. This property is located at 163 Bd de la Plage, 33120 Arcachon, France and closes earlier than most French casinos, evidently, they shut the doors at about one in the morning most daysā¦which seems uncharacteristically early.
Even by French standards, this would qualify as a small casino property as the slot floor consists of only seventy, or so, combined traditional reels, video slots and video poker games. The property is also home to 24 total seats for Electronic Table Games and features both E-Blackjack and Electronic English Roulette, with one device for each.
The property is home to two Table Games, which include Blackjack and a game called Boule 2000, which might translate to Ball 2000. What does that mean? Letās see what we can find from their (translated) description:
Boule 2000 is a table game, generally played on a large cylindrical board and a playing mat. It is a kind of simplified roulette game: instead of the 36 numbers offered, Boule 2000 does not offers only nine, and you can only bet on the draw of a number or a parity. The course of a game is therefore close to a round of roulette: the players bet on the squares of the board, and a ball thrown by the croupier decides the fate of the players. Here is a very fun game allowing you to bet without thinking too muchā¦
As far as I can tell, this is an even simpler version of the Boule game that we discussed earlier, and it would seem that the House Edge on this game remains 11.11% regardless of what bet you make. For that reason, youād be much better off playing Blackjack or Electronic English Roulette.
Restaurant OāDeganne is the propertyās lone dining establishment and is open for both lunch and dinner service seven days per week. The propertyās restaurant describes itself (translated) thus:
A place of relaxation and conviviality par excellence, the O’Deganne restaurant focuses on taste in all simplicity. The chef offers players and all gourmets a menu of seasonal products that is regularly renewed.
āThe Casino restaurant has returned to its original place on the first floor of the ChĆ¢teau Deganne, regulars and curious visitors will thus find a bright room with a sober and refined decor. Ā»
Chef Laurent Vogel has taken over the reins of the Casino restaurant. Its authentic cuisine based on fresh and seasonal products is a delight for regulars.
With that, youāll be able to get something to eat no matter what day you are at this property, which is always nice.
In conclusion, this is basically just another example of a French localsā casino with limited offerings and, if youāve been to one of them, youāve pretty much been to them all. Despite how excited the singers in this advertisement seem about the place (credit to them for singing passionately about a micro-casino!) thereās really nothing to see here and really no reason to stop in unless you just happen to be in the area anyway.
Casino Tranchant ArgelĆØs-Gazost
The Casino Tranchant ArgelĆØs-Gazost is a casino located at Av. Adrien Hebrard, 65400 ArgelĆØs-Gazost, France. Generally speaking, the properties that do not have some other name associated with them other than Casino (city name) tend to be the smaller ones, so I suppose we will see if that holds true in this case.
From the outside, other than the center area of the building forming a really small tower and the signage, the building could really be anything. Thereās nothing particularly unique about it, although, the small fountain in front and fencing around the perimeter makes it a little more attractive and unique than it might otherwise be.
This casino is actually extremely small, even by French standards, as it consists of only fifty total slot machines, inclusive to traditional reels, a few video reel slots and a handful of Video Poker machines. In fact, as of a year or so back, only six of the machines were Video Poker, but when there are only fifty machines in the first place, that would mean that 12% of the machines are Video Pokerā¦which is probably right about the percentage that one would expect.
The only Table Game available as of about a year ago was one live Boule Table, though we would recommend staying away from that game because the House Edge on it is terrible.
The property is home to one bar on the casino floor, as well as a restaurant and lounge piano bar that serves some food. The property, perhaps surprisingly, even has a larger restaurant that would be called Garden Park and serves a small assortment of different dishes at roughly the prices that you would expect for a casino. They also have a small entertainment area that occasionally hosts live concerts, though we couldnāt find a website listing their shows, so we suppose that your best bet is probably to call the property if you are looking for live entertainment.
Once again, this is just a micro-casino that is mostly going to be of any interest only to locals or individuals who happen to be visiting the area for some other reason. You wonāt find anything here that you would not find at other casinos in France, though we would give the property some credit for these two things:
*It is attractive in its simplicity
*There is plenty of room to get around and be comfortable. This property could have a few more slot machines if it wanted to, at least, in terms of the amount of space available, but they seem to put a priority on players at least being able to play comfortably. It would also appear that the property is now home to an Electronic English Roulette table, which is relatively new.
Casino JOA d’ArgelĆØs
The next casino property that we will discuss is the Casino JOA d’ArgelĆØs which is located at 1893 All. des Pins, 66700 ArgelĆØs-sur-Mer, France. Honestly, since they all say, āCasino,ā somewhere and the city names can seem superficially similar (even though they probably wouldnāt if you are from France) I actually sometimes have to go back and make sure that I am not doubling my efforts in writing about the same casino twice!
This JOA Casino is another one that we will give credit for providing its machine players with plenty of space to get around. Once again, they could pack the floor with more machines, if they wanted to, but seem more content to put a priority on the comfort of the players, by giving them plenty of personal space. Additionally, while the building is small, the exterior signage and lighting, particularly at night, kind of gives off a vibe that you would be accustomed to if you have visited casinos in the United States.
I would say that the interior of the casino does the same thing. By French casino standards, it would not be unfair to suggest that the interior lighting is dimmer than most, and in that sense, much more reminiscent (other than the smaller size) of a casino floor that you might find in the United States. More than anything, the interior of the casino represents what might be a generic locals casino in the United States, or to compare to a Las Vegas casino, it might remind you of something like Binionās or Fremont in Downtown Las Vegas.
The property is home to approximately seventy combined traditional slot, video slot and video poker machines with denominations starting at .01. These games tend to be a few generations behind the slot machines that you might be used to in the United States, if you have visited U.S. casinos, but at the same time, that also means that you might run into an old favorite that your U.S. casino of choice might have removed from the casino floor years agoā¦so that would be pretty neat!
In terms of live Table Games, the property is presently home to two Blackjack Tables, both of which have a minimum bet of ā¬2 as of the time of this writing. Compared to most casinos in the United States, that actually represents a fairly low Table Minimum, but is pretty standard in France.
If the Blackjack tables are not operating at the time you are there, at least youāre not completely out of luck. As with most other French casinos, the property is home to an electronic English Roulette game as well as an Electronic Blackjack game. Between the two, there are some twenty total seats available.
The property is home to a single restaurant that is called Restaurant Comptoir JOA d’ArgelĆØs and is open seven days per week for both lunch and dinner service. Additionally, there is a restaurant counter at which patrons may grab a bite to eat between services or after dinner service has ended. The prices and offerings are basically on par with what you would expect from a restaurant in a French locals casino, so you are not going to be in for any unexpectedly high prices. Thatās always a positive.
However, this restaurant is still requiring that guests provide documented proof of vaccination, which many other French casino restaurants no longer require, so you will want to keep that in mind if you are going to visit this property.
During the Summer months, the restaurant has a terrace that is available for those who would like to dine outdoors. The property is also home to a bar located near the casino floor, and once again, guests may take their drinks outside during the Summer months, if they wish. Additionally, when the restaurant is not open (or even when it is) guests can visit the bar for snacks, sandwiches and other grab and go items. Another unique thing about the property’s bar is that they have two unique JOA craft beers that you may try out, if that is your beverage of choice; theyāre reputed to be pretty good.
Overall, this is pretty much a cookie-cutter French locals casino that follows the same formula as other localsā casinos in the country. The artisan beers aside, the only things that set this casino apart are the exterior and interior aesthetics, which tend to be more reminiscent of localsā casinos in the United States, so with that, visitors from the United States will find the setting familiar. As with the other casinos, this is one that you will generally only visit if you happen to live around there, or are visiting that area of France for some other reason. Generally speaking, you would not build a trip around a visit to this property.
For those wishing to have a meeting, small convention or birthday party, the JOA Casino has facilities that can accommodate small groups, and they suggest that you call for details. More information along those lines can be found here.
Casino JOA d’Ax-les-Thermes
The Casino JOA d’Ax-les-Thermes is another locals casino in France, this one located at Promenade Paul Salette, 09110 Ax-les-Thermes, France. The exterior of this property is somewhat unique in that it looks like a combination of a United Statesā riverboat casino entrance, or something along those lines, with two small castle-style mini spires. Itās definitely not as big as the sort of castle spires you would see in American casinos with the same design element, but the style is roughly the same.
In terms of the interior, the games and machines are very spread out and the lighting is probably average. Itās not as bright as some other French casinos, but it is not as dim as some others. Once again, we will credit them with offering their players a ton of personal space, so much, in fact, that if the machines were 100% occupied, players would still not feel overly crowded.
This property features occasional special events, such as Bingo with dinner nights and, less frequently, live concerts We would recommend looking at their website if you would like to plan a visit to this casino during one of these events as they do not seem to have any sort of regular schedule.
In terms of gaming offerings, this is another locals casino that is very much on the smaller side. With respect to slot machines, there are only fifty total units which are inclusive to traditional reel slots, video slots and video poker machines. Once again, the video slots that you will find here are going to be a few generations behind (generally speaking) those in United States casinos, however, if you have visited United States casinos with any frequency, then you might stumble upon a few old favorites of yours.
To say the least, the live gambling offerings are very limited. In fact, there is presently only one Live Blackjack Table that is open during the evening hours and has a minimum, at least as of the time of this writing, of ā¬2. This table opens nightly at 21:00, so if that is the only game that you would be interested in playing, then there is really no reason for you to arrive at the casino earlier than that.
In addition to their one live Blackjack Table, the property is also home to two electronic gaming devices (with some twenty stations between the two) that consists of Electronic English Roulette as well as Blackjack. Naturally, the electronic versions of the games are available anytime the casino is open, so if you are willing to settle for that, then you may arrive anytime during operating hours.
The property is home to one bistro style restaurant which is called the Restaurant Counter JOA of Ax-les-Thermes and is open every day that the casino is open. The prices at this restaurant are generally very economical and, as of the time of this writing, they have packages that include a cinema ticket, a meal and ā¬10 in casino play, which is a better deal than buying all of those items separately and playing direct ā¬10. Thatās probably worth taking advantage of if you want to see a movie anyway. Those who might intend to take children to the restaurant should know that children may not dine there, as access to the restaurant is direct from the casino.
The property is home to a single casino bar, which also serves the JOA artesanal blonde and amber beers, which are said to be pretty good, so you should probably go get one if you are a beer drinker. The bar is located directly off of the casino floor, with a few machines in the direct bar area, that said, there are not any bartop devices. One can also purchase a quick snack from the bars grab and go menu, which is useful especially when the restaurant is not open.
Itās the same story with most of these casinos: They are perfectly fine locals places, and are good places to check out if you happen to be visiting those areas anyway, but there is no particular reason to plan an entire trip, or even a weekend (in this case) around visiting this particular casino. Thereās nothing to see here thatās not in the others. If youāre a cinephile, then you might like the dinner, movie and slot credit package.
Casino Tranchant BagnĆØres-de-Bigorre
The next property we will look into is the Casino Tranchant BagnĆØres-de-Bigorre, which is located at Pl. des Thermes, 65200 BagnĆØres-de-Bigorre, France.
The exterior of this property would likely seem unusual to most people. If youāre from the United States or have spent a lot of time here, the best way to describe it is that it looks kind of like a United States jail, but facing outdoors, with a Microtel (economy chain of hotels) behind it. For all I know, the French would consider this place to have an attractive design, but I dare say that most people from the Americas would find this facade highly unusual.
The interior consists of another one of those floor plans that is designed to give players plenty of room to get around as well as an ample amount of personal space. Honestly, there are only a few French casinos that seem truly jam-packed, but thereās so much space between the machines here that you might be able to put up a net and play a game of Badminton!
For whatever reason, the property doesnāt seem to have a dedicated webpage, but they do maintain a Facebook page, so you can look there for the most up to date information. From the Facebook page I learned that the sometimes have Live Bingo, but that seems to be infrequent, sop we would recommend checking out their Facebook page to see if live Bingo, or any other events, happen to be going on whenever you are in the area.
While there are smaller French locals casinos than this one, itās still pretty small. This property is home to only 75 combined machines that are either traditional reel slots, video slots or video poker. Additionally, these arenāt going to be the newest games, even by French standards, and mostly consists of games that would have come out a few generations ago in the United States.
There are only two live gaming tables, both Blackjack, and there is also an electronic roulette machine. The property is home to a bar as well as a casual restaurant with very average prices, at least, by casino standards.
While you might not think much of the property, the guests sure seem to enjoy it! Facebook reviewers would have the property score a 4.9 overall, with most guests stating that the restaurant is quite good and that they find the employees to be friendly and helpful.
Either way, this is just one of many localsā casinos in France that people are mostly only going to visit if they live in the area. If youāre from out of the area, itās worth a look, but as ever, I wouldnāt go out of my way just to visit this place.
Casino JOA de Bagnoles-de-l’Orne
The Casino JOA de Bagnoles-de-l’Orne is another JOA Casino, this one located at 6 Av. Robert Cousin, 61140 Bagnoles de l’Orne. The exterior is interesting in design as it looks like a miniature version of the U.S. Capitol Building, at least, I think so. From the rear, it might somewhat resemble a riverboat casino (in the United States) which makes sense, since this property is right off of the water.
Given its Normandy location, it should come as no surprise that this casino more frequently has special events than some other casino properties. Thatās especially true in the Summer when there are Terrace nights, karaoke, occasional bands and any other number of special events. If youāre going to be in the area, then we would recommend checking out their website to see if anything is going on.
In terms of the casino floor, this property is bigger than some and smaller than others. It features a combined 150 traditional reel slot machines, video slot machines and video poker games. They claim that they have the newest machines, which might be true by French casino standards, but people who play in the United States regularly should expect the offerings (at least as far as American titles are concerned) to be a generation or two behind.
As far as Live Table Games are concerned, this property spreads both Blackjack and Roulette, additionally, the property is home to a Live Texas Hold āEm table. As far as we can tell, thatās kind of a unique feature as we would suggest that French casinos are slightly less than 50% likely to have Live Poker. In fact, on weekends, there are often two tables going for live poker.
Finally, as you would probably have expected, the propertyās casino floor is home to both electronic roulette as well as electronic blackjack.
With that, we would say that the only meaningful difference between the gaming offerings of this and any other French locals casino is that this one has poker and a few more machines than some other places, but this is hardly the biggest casino in the country.
The propertyās restaurant is called The JOA Counter in Bagnoles-de-l’Orne and is open for both lunch and dinner service seven days per week, except on Mondays, when it is open only for dinner. In addition to indoor dining, some guests will enjoy eating outside on a lovely terrace that overlooks the water. The prices here are surprisingly low, given the quality of the food and the ambiance, so we would recommend checking this property out if you are in the area just for the restaurant!
Also, youāll still be able to go to the restaurant even if you are traveling with young ones as there is restaurant access independent of the casino floor.
This establishment also houses a bar with some grab and go type food available. Actually, this bar seems designed to largely resemble an American sports bar, whereas, many other casino bars in France almost look like little American cafes or snack stands. There are plenty of big screen TVās adorning the wall around the bar area.
Another family activity that is available to visitors is the casinoās cinema, which is quite reasonably priced. As with the restaurant, the cinema can be accessed independently of the casino floor, so those who want to watch a movie can, regardless of their age.
The family friendly activities donāt stop there, however, as the broader property is also home both to paddle boat rentals as well as miniature golf. This seems like a pretty ideal spot for people who are traveling with their children, so we would recommend you look into this property if you are planning a trip to the area.
The property is (sort of) home to a hotel that is located 300m from the casino itself and is called L’HĆ“tel Spa du BĆ©ryl*** Ć Bagnoles. The owners of the casino also own this hotel, and because access is (obviously) independent of the casino, you may stay at this hotel if you are bringing children along.
This is a somewhat high-end hotel, with amenities including a swimming pool, saunas and spaā¦with additional paid services.
Overall, while youāre not going to see much on the casino floor that you couldnāt get anywhere else, this is a really nice property and a place that you can bring kids and they would have plenty to do. With that, we would highly suggest that you at least consider staying at this property if you are going to be in that area. If you live somewhat nearby, then we would also suggest that you could easily build a weekend retreat around spending time at this property, particularly in the Summer months, as there are likely to be some special events going on during the weekend.
Casino Circus de Balaruc-Les-Bains
This property is another casino owned and operated by Circus Casinos and is located at 66 Rue du Mont Saint-Clair, 34540 Balaruc-les-Bains, France. This establishment had been closed for a few years, but apparently, business has picked back up in the area enough to justify opening the place up again.
In terms of the exterior aesthetic, itās really nothing special as the building almost resembles a grocery store. The entrance honestly does look like that of a grocery store, at least, in my opinion. They have some neon signage that would indicate the building is a casino, but itās about as generic as it comes. Actually, another comparison that one could make would be to an American bowling alleyāit also kind of looks like one of those.
The interior of the casino is fairly well-lit and features about 120 slot machines, inclusive of traditional reel games, video slots and video poker, which are all reasonably spaced out, thus offering players plenty of room to get around. If you took the slot machines out, however, you wouldnāt even know that you were in a casino as, aesthetically speaking, the interior is no less generic than is the exterior.
In terms of Table Games, they have one English Roulette Table, two Blackjack Tables and one table for a game called Rampo, which is a dice game that appears to consist of a single roll in which players bet on one, or more, individual numbers. It would also appear that players have the option to bet on the same number to come up twice in a row. Perhaps I will try to find some more rules on this and hammer out the math for another page, as the math on any dice game is extremely easy as long as one understands the rules.
Finally, the property is home to an electronic English Roulette unit, which is something to play if the actual table games are closed.
The casino is home to a small restaurant that is open for dinner service seven days per week. As of the time of this writing, the purchase of certain meals also includes a five Euro game ticket that can be used to play any of the casino games, aside from, presumably, table games.
Of course, the casino floor is home to a sizable bar, frankly, bigger than one might expect for this property, and people are also able to visit in order to buy some grab and go eats if they happen to be hungry during hours that the restaurant is closedāwhich is most of the time.
All things considered, this is a pretty cookie-cutter locals casino, although we should give them some credit for having a dice game, which is the first one of those that we have seen so far on this listings page. Needless to say, we havenāt even seen a Craps Table yet and itās possible that thereās not one in the entire country. Although, the only way to know for sure is to keep going, which is exactly what we will do withā¦
Grand Casino Bandol
The next casino that we will discuss is the Grand Casino Bandol, which is located at 2 Pl. Lucien Artaud, 83150 Bandol, France. Aesthetically, this is arguably one of the nicer casinos in the country. While the building itself is nothing special, there are flower beds as you make your way to the casinoās main entrance.
Where you really see the difference is in the interior of the casino, which features medium lighting, but also is perhaps the most modern in design of any we have discussed so far. There are a lot of red and black tones as well as quite a few chandeliers spread out here and there.
As we have seen so far, French casinos tend not to pack their players in like sardines, and this casino is no exception. Another aspect worthy of mention is that their slot floor is very current, especially by French standards. Many of the video slot machines are relatively new units, in fact, this casinoās slot floor offerings are probably quite similar to many localsā casinos, or smallish Tribal Casinos, in the United States. Itās obviously not going to be the Las Vegas Strip in game diversity and newness, but itās about as well as you are going to do in France.
In terms of casino offerings, the property is presently home to 128 slot machines, but as we have already mentioned, you can expect to find some relatively new ones here, and certainly, some slot machines that you will not find in most other French casinos. Of course, that number is the total including traditional reels, video slots and video poker.
It should come as no surprise that this property features both Electronic Roulette as well as Electronic Blackjack, with more than fifty combined seats. The property is home to seven live gaming tables, which include two English Roulette Tables, one Blackjack Table and four Texas Hold āEm Tables. In other words, that means that Texas Hold āEm is more popular here than most other French casinos as many donāt have it at all, and of those who do, itās usually fewer than four tables.
The property features regular poker tournaments, but the nights for these change somewhat frequently, so we will have to recommend that you visit their website for more information on that.
Finally, the property is home to one Partouche Tab unit, which we detailed in our first casino listing. In short, the Partouche games are competitive games upon which players compete against each other and usually feature several possible mini-games. In fact, there are many websites where you can get an idea of what Partouche games are like for free, so feel free to check one of those out.
La Rotunde, which means, āThe Rotunda,ā is the propertyās lone dining establishment (for full service dining) and has ample seating overlooking the Bay of Bandol, which is a pretty gorgeous view, to say the least. The cuisine is largely based on the season, is reasonably priced, and is open for lunch and dinner services seven days per week.
Of course, thereās a bar off of the casino floor, so you can go there to get hydrated, or get some grab and go snack when the restaurant is not operating; the bar is basically open whenever the casino is open.
Obviously, thereās nothing here that would justify going way out of your way or building an entire trip around visiting this casino, but there is enough there that we would highly suggest stopping in for an evening if you happen to be in that area. It definitely seems like one of the FRench casinos in which you are most likely to find an active Texas Hold āEm game.
Casino de Barbazan
The Casino de Barbazan is the next property we will dive into and it is located at Route de Loures, 3 Av. de la Tuilerie, 31510 Barbazan, France. Aesthetically, this is a small and understated casino property that could be confused for a house if not for the signage. Indoors, it is well-lit and fairly Spartan, but clean and not aesthetically displeasing.
Other than the fact that it would be cleaner than most, you really wouldnāt know the differences, once inside, between this casino and something like a Dottyās in Nevada.
To start with, there are only sixty combined traditional slot, video slot and video poker games on the casinoās main floor. As with the other casinos in France, this property offers plenty of space for players to move around between devices and will not feel encroached upon. It would see, at least from these designs, that the French arguably place a greater interest on personal space than even people from the United States, otherwise, you would think most of these casinos would try to get more machines in there.
As you might expect, as with most French casinos, this property is home to electronic Blackjack as well as electronic Roulette. The casino also features Boule 2000, though we would recommend not ever playing that, because the House Edge is terrible. You could be awful at Blackjack and it would still probably be the better game to play.
The property is home to a bar and restaurant with limited offerings, but that said, it is open anytime the casino is, so you can always grab a bite to eat if you want to.
Either way, what you end up with is a nice little localsā hangout. Itās worth checking out if you happen to be in that area anyway, or are visiting someone in that area, but not if you have to go out of your way whatsoever to get there. They really donāt have much that most other localsā casinos donāt have and the slot floor is quite dated, even by French standards.
Casino Circus de Barbotan
The next casino that we will discuss is the Casino Circus de Barbotan, which is located at Rue Jeanne d’Albret, 32150 Cazaubon, France and is another property owned by Circus Casinos.
On the exterior, the property looks like a series of small and spherical buildings, but when they turn the lights on at night, you can see that it is kind of meant to look like an oversized merry-go-round, so thatās kind of a neat thing. The interior of the casino is pretty generic and extremely dimly lit, especially in comparison to most other casinos in France.
The casino floor is one of the smaller ones in the country as this property is home to only 70 combined traditional reel slots, video slots and video poker games with (minimum bet: ā¬0.01), which is true of most French casinos. In addition to the slot machines, this property is home to a Blackjack Table (live) with a minimum bet of ā¬2 and a Boule 2000 Table where the minimum is half of that. Despite the lower minimum, given the House Edges of both games, a player is considerably better off to play Blackjack as opposed to Boule, which has an awful 11.11% House Edge.
As with most other casinos in the country, this one is home to Electronic Roulette as well as Electronic Blackjack.
The property has this to say about their restaurant:
Enjoy a moment of relaxation at the Casino restaurant!
An ideal meeting place that offers fresh, seasonal products in a comfortable atmosphere.
There is no doubt that many of you will appreciate the welcome and the modern cuisine created by our chef.
The restaurant team welcomes you every day for lunch and dinner from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and the day before public holidays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The prices and service are about what you would expect for a French casino, which means that both are pretty good. In addition to the lunch and dinner service times, players will also be able to get some grab and go items and snacks from the bar when the restaurant is not open.
Thatās everything that there is to know about this localsā casino, which is very similar to many others aside from the unique exterior aesthetic. If youāre in the area and donāt have to go out of your way, then maybe itās worth checking out, otherwise, if youāve been to any localsā casinos in France, then thereās really no need to go to this one.
Casino BarriĆØre BĆ©nodet
The next property we will address is the Casino BarriĆØre BĆ©nodet which is a locals casino located at 7 Cor de la Plage, 29950 BĆ©nodet, France. Evidently, thereās more going on at this small property than you would think, though from the outside, it really doesnāt look like much. It resembles, honestly, some sort of economy motel in the United States, like a Days Inn, or something. The only real difference, of course, is the signage that declares it is a casino.
The interior of the casino is much nicer and if youāve ever been to a midgrade casino in the United States, then this place will look quite familiar, with the only difference of being smaller than a great many United States casinos. Either way, the interior features dim lighting and a dark aesthetic that features a great deal of red. Additionally, the neon lighting from the ceiling as well as the gold lighting around one of the bars on the casino floor is distinctly United States style.
The one downside to the style is that, while thereās still enough room to get around, the machines are definitely much closer to one another in this casino than they are in most casinos in France, so players arenāt necessarily going to feel as though they have as much personal space as they would in other casinos in the country.
Unfortunately, this casino groupās website absolutely sucks. The first problem that I have with them is that they say the following:
State-of-the-art games, mystery or progressive Jackpot, ticket system to bet… With more than 6,300 Slot Machines spread over 33 establishments and state-of-the-art Reels constantly renewed, the BarriĆØre Casinos are multiplying the offers to entertain you all throughout the year.
Okay, so knowing that they have 6,300 machines over 33 establishments doesnāt really tell me anything aside from the fact that each establishment averages just under 200 machines. Nowhere on this site, and I started from the page they have for this specific casino, can I find any information on how many slot machines there are at this one casino.
I suppose that I could look for other information on it, but why should I? If this casino group doesnāt care to give individual machine counts for each of their properties, then why should we? With that, we will just say that they have more than zero and less than one million machines and that the average for their properties is a little under 200.
Having 6,300 machines over 33 establishments isnāt even impressive! It almost sounds like they are trying to boast about that, but there are individual properties in the United States with more slot machines than that, so big deal.
Naturally, their webpage does not tell us what Table Games are located in this casino, but rather, discusses which ones might be found considering all of their properties. We happen to know that the games here are Blackjack and Battaile (Casino War), so we will do them the favor of listing those.
We also know that the property is home to both Electronic Roulette as well as Electronic Blackjack.
The Sports Cafe serves as both the bar and restaurant for this property, with the prices being quite reasonable and the restaurant open for dinner service five days per week; it is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Of course, when the full-service restaurant is not offering dinner service, players can get some grab and go items from the propertyās bar area, including sandwiches and some snacks.
The restaurant has this to say::
Beef carpaccio or tartare, smoked salmon, vegetarian lasagnaā¦ Taste the classic dishes of a restaurant open to everyone.
Arriving a little late? Do not panic, a service at any time with croques, pasta, plate of cheeses and desserts satisfy the small appetites.
On weekends, the restaurant changes its atmosphere.
The dance floor is cleared, the platform becomes a concert stage and the space multiplies to host dinner shows or theme evenings.
Between generous dishes and dynamic shows, share delicious moments at the CafƩ des Sports.
Believe it or not, this property has a small theater for live performances, but they are extremely infrequent, so we would recommend checking their website for details. For example, this was written in June and the next event that they have scheduled, at least as of the time of this writing, is not until towards the end of September.
Casino Berck
The next casino we will address is the very simply named Casino Berck, which is located at Pl. du 18 Juin, 62600 Berck, France. This property honestly looks like, from the exterior, it would be a County Courthouse somewhere in the United States, aside from the big block letters in front that declare it is a casino, of course.
The interior of the casino is brightly lit, and I donāt know how the French would see it, and wouldnāt be rude enough to ask them, but I think the tile floor is absolutely terrible. It looks like old school tiling and makes the place resemble an independent video rental store, or dive restaurant, from the 1980ās in the United States.
That said, the games are organized in what is sort of an assortment of smaller rooms and areas, thereby leaving players plenty of room to get around, so the spatial design is nice though the visual aesthetics could use some improving, again, just from my perspective. Perhaps someone from France would think the floor looks great, who knows?
The casino floor is home to a total of 75 slot machines consisting of traditional reel slots, video slots as well as video poker. The only Electronic Table Game is English Roulette, and their one unit has eight seats for players. They probably donāt have a Blackjack because, given the design of the casino, it doesnāt really seem like there would be anywhere to put it without getting rid of something else.
In terms of live Table Games, the property is home to two Blackjack Tables, which, we suppose, is better than only having one.
The restaurant at this property is called Restaurant La Verriere, which is open seven days per week for both lunch and dinner service. The decor of the restaurant is much more modern than that of the rest of the casino, at least, from my perspective and it could be mistaken for a casual restaurant in a United States casino. They have this to say on their website:
Behind the pretty facade of the Casino, one of the resort’s emblematic buildings, hides the chic and elegant brasserie “La VerriĆØre”. The room, cozy, tastefully decorated, is the meeting place for all occasions: as a couple, with family or friends. The outdoor terrace is calm and pleasant to enjoy sunny days. In the kitchen, chef Laurent and his team rely on traditional home-made cuisine.
Something to delight fine mouths. Everyone will choose from the menu or Ć la carte.
I will give them this, the facade of the casino would qualify as pretty. Like I said, it looks like a courthouse in the United States, at least, in one of the older states in the Northeast. The floor that they chose for the interior in the actual casino area is a serious head-scratcher, though. Again, perhaps locals perceive it differently, but this writer thinks that floor is hideous.
The menu is a bit expensive compared to most other casino restaurants, but there is a selection for kids that is pretty cheap and the specials seem reasonably priced.
Evidently, this casino is listed on their equivalent to the Register of Historic Places, so perhaps that is why the floor is the way that it is. Evidently, the property was a bus station for a very long time, so thatās an interesting tidbit of information.
In any event, the property can be seen as nothing more than another locals casino, and this time, with a bit of a pricey restaurant. If you happen to be in the area and enjoy historic buildings, then it would certainly be worth a stop, but donāt expect anything you havenāt had before if all you are concerned with is the casino offerings.
JOA Casino BesanƧon
The next casino that we will look into is the JOA Casino BesanƧon, another JOA casino, with this one located at 2 Av. Edouard Droz, 25000 BesanƧon, France.
In terms of the exterior, this property kind of looks like what we would consider a Colonial mansion sort of style in the United States, though I donāt know what exactly they would call the design. The building has an interesting lighting scheme at night, as itās not overly garish and shines only a few purple lights skyward.
The interior of the property is well-lit and has a pretty simple design, if it can even be said to have a design at all. The slot machines give players plenty of room to get around, though are perhaps a little closer together than in most other French casinos. They definitely pack them tighter than this in a great many United States casinos, but by French standards, I think itās fair to say that the machines are a little bit jammed up.
In terms of live entertainment, this property often features live DJs or bands on the weekend evenings, but we would recommend checking out their website here if live events are very important to you as such is not always the case.
The casino floor is home to 107 total machines, which is inclusive to traditional slots, video slots and video poker. The property has a few gaming tables, which include English Roulette as well as Blackjack; the electronic version of both of those games is also available.
The property is home to one restaurant called Le Comptoir JOA de BesanƧon, which is very economically priced and is open seven days per week for both lunch and dinner service. If you are outside of the lunch and dinner service hours, donāt worry, because you can get some grab and go items or snacks from the bar located on the casino floor.
All things considered, this is just another localsā casino, though we will say that their slot floor is relatively new, in terms of machine titles, compared to some other French casinos. In any event, itās worth stopping by if you happen to be in the area anyway, though it is not worth going out of your way to visit as, if youāve seen any other localsā casino in France, then youāre really not missing anything to skip this one.
Casino BarriĆØre: (Biarritz)
Next up, we have the Casino BarriĆØre Biarritz which is another localsā casino located at 1 Av. Edouard VII, 64200 Biarritz, France. Located just off the water and colored just lighter than the sand surrounding the property, this almost resembles a miniature version of how the Trump Plaza casino used to look. I suppose itās possible that they were going for a look with that Atlantic City sort of vibe, unfortunately, thereās no Atlantic City Boardwalk outside, of course.
Unfortunately, this casino is in that same group that doesnāt care to give machine counts for all of its individual casinos, so we will estimate that they have more than zero and fewer than six million machines. Again, if they donāt want to give this vital information for their own casino, then why should we do it for them?
We will say that the property is home to seven Table Games, inclusive to English Roulette as well as Blackjack, and they also have those games in electronic form. I guess we will share the slot count, which is 200, just because that reflects that this establishment has a larger than average casino floor. Of course, itās in something more of a destination location than most others.
The propertyās restaurant is Le Cafe de la Grande Plage, which is very reasonably priced and has seating available on the terrace, as well as inside. The restaurant has this to say about itself:
INSTALLED ON THE TERRACE OR BEHIND THE HUGE BAY WINDOWS, ENJOY THE VIEW OF THE OCEAN WHILE TASTING THE TRADITIONAL CUISINE OF CHEF FRANCK BRIĆRE.
Ć la Carte, pan-fried Chipirons, grilled prawns, Tataki-style tuna, Chocolate cake, CrĆŖme brulĆ©e, or raspberry tiramisu… Aim for the Serrano ham slate if you prefer to gather around a nice plate to share. And discover the region’s distinctive wines.
Discover our Formula of the Day* :
Dish of the day for ā¬14.90
Offer valid only for lunch every day except Sundays and public holidays, within the limit of available stocks.
Large circular chandelier, shiny Formica walls, glass tables and blond wood floors.
The flavors of the South-West are expressed in the Art Deco setting of the CafƩ de la Grande Plage.
Between blue waters and gaming rooms, savor delicious moments at the Casino BarriĆØre Biarritz.
As you can see, they have a wide variety of offerings and the dish of the day is available at quite a reasonable price. According to them, the average price is closer to thirty Euros for a meal, but given the location of the property, you kind of have to expect it to be a little bit higher than most other places.
While you might expect this property to have a hotel, it doesnāt, which is kind of a surprise given the location. Itās possible that the area simply has the right amount of hotels for the market prior to the casino being built, but either way, it is still going to be very reminiscent of Atlantic City, for those of you who have been there.
Naturally, we wouldnāt plan a trip around going to this one casino, but you should definitely check it out if you happen to be in that area. Thatās especially true if you have ever been in Atlantic City before because, other than the lack of a Boardwalk and the fact that the casino is smaller, you really wouldnāt know the difference.
Casino Barriere (Blotzheim)
Our next listing is another Casino Barriere location, and as we have already established, their website doesnāt seem to give the machine count for their individual properties, for whatever reason. In any event, this property is located at 777 All. du Casino, 68730 Blotzheim, France.
While we wonāt include a precise machine count, since they donāt seem to want to, we will say that it is more than 200, so this is slightly over average in terms of casino floors for a French locals casino.
This property is also home to fourteen live gaming tables, which I believe is the most that we have seen so far on this listing page. All of these tables are either English Roulette or Blackjack, however. In addition to those tables, there is also a Texas Hold āEm Poker table for those interested in playing that. Naturally, this property is also home to the electronic versions of both Blackjack and English Roulette.
The propertyās restaurant is called the Blotz Cafe and is located directly off of the casino floor, as is the Blotz Bar, where you can also pick up some light eats when the restaurant is not operating. The restaurant has a terrace and opens daily for both lunch and dinner services. Their website has this to say about them:
HUGE WENGE WOOD COUNTER UNDERLINED WITH METAL, LUMINOUS TRAY AND VELVET BENCHES TOPPED BY A PODIUM. DISCOVER THE SEASONAL MENU AND THE ORIGINAL ANIMATIONS OF THE BLOTZ’CAFĆ.
Our brigade offers you a menu based on the rhythm of the seasons around traditional, gourmet and local cuisine. The destination is famous for its famous burgers but also known for its cocktails. Also enjoy the green setting on the large terrace. The BlotZ’CafĆ© remains a privileged destination to enjoy an evening with family or friend
Once again, thereās no meaningful difference between this establishment and most other French locals casinos other than the fact that this one is slightly bigger than most and has more Table Games than do most other casinos. The offerings in terms of amenities and gaming are little different than those of the other Barrier casinos, so you arenāt missing anything to skip this one, especially if youād have to go out of your way. As always, itās worth checking out if you’re in that area anyway.
Casino BarriĆØre (Bordeaux)
Here we are with another Casino Barriere location, the casino chain with pain in the ass websites that barely tell us anything about the individual locations. In any event, this one is in Bordeaux, a very large French area, so we will see that this Casino Barriere is a large casinoāby French standards, anyway. It is located at Rue du Cardinal Richaud, 33300 Bordeaux, France.
We start with the casino floor which has some 300 total traditional reel slot games, video slots and video poker machines, which is well above average by the standards of French casinos. Keep in mind, French casinos are structured a bit like the State of Montana in the United States where youāre going to see a bunch of small casinos scattered all around rather than a bunch of enormous casinos all concentrated in one place.
This property is home to fourteen gaming tables, as well, but features a significant variety of games with Roulette, Boule, Casino War, Blackjack and Ultimate Texas Hold āEm. Additionally, they also have Texas Hold āEm Poker and feature frequent tournaments, we would recommend calling them for more details on that, if you are interested, as their website is unlikely to be of much help.
From the outside, the property looks like it could be a smallish mall, which it might as well be, as it is home to not only the casino and restaurant, but also to a theater. In the interior, you can expect to find bright lighting and plenty of space in the Table Games area, however, the slot floor can get a bit tight in certain spots, which is quite unusual for a French casino. Of course, thereās plenty of room in some areas.
Cafe Barriere is the propertyās restaurant and is very reasonably priced. Their menu can be found here. These Barriere casinos are largely similar to one another, which is also true of a few casinos chains in the United States, su8ch as Hollywood Casino, but I would think thatās a little bit of a disappointment to people who are going from place to place in France. When visiting a different location than the one you live in, for example, whatās the point of visiting a casino if itās exactly the same thing as the one you usually visit when youāre at home?
In any event, this property is also home to sporadic shows and has a sizable theater, so if youāre going to be in that area and only want to visit the casino if a live show is scheduled for that evening, then we would recommend you check out the propertyās website to see whatās coming up.
Casino Boulogne sur Mer (Golden Palace)
For our next listing, we will be covering the Golden Palace, properly named the Casino Boulogne sur Mer. I suppose Golden Palace is unique by French standards, but the people who named this casino know they jacked that name from a casino that used to be in Las Vegas.
In any event, the ownership group has this to say about themselves:
With more than 55 years of experience, the Golden Palace group has become the Belgian leader in casino gaming rooms by relying on simple values, from which it does not intend to stray. Golden Palace owes its success to its local commitment. Indeed, the group supports local organisations, events and charities as often as possible.
It is with this in mind that Golden Palace wishes to invest in the operation of the Casino of Boulogne-sur-Mer so that it becomes an essential place of entertainment.
The city of Boulogne-sur-Mer has been changing for several years, in order to revitalize the region. The first transformations have already been initiated, in particular with the Ax Liane, a major project in land use planning, which aims to boost and ensure the economic development of the region. The Boulogne area is reinventing itself with a new leisure, tourist and cultural offer with which Golden Palace wishes to be associated.
An innovative player in the entertainment business, Golden Palace’s ambition is to make the casino an essential place of entertainment that is more open to the city and its region. It must be a point of pride for its inhabitants and serve as a driving force for the economic renewal already underway.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you guys say. Looks like a few paragraphs of bullcrap to me. In any event, this casino is located at Republic Square, 62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer.
The property is home to a few live Table Games, of which are included Roulette, Blackjack, Boule (we do not recommend playing this as the house edge is terrible) and Ultimate Texas Hold āEm. Additionally, the property is home to eighty total machines that include traditional reel slots, video poker and video slots. In terms of electronic table games, they do have an electronic roulette machine with a few seats.
The property is also home to a modern and simply appointed combination restaurant and bar, with menus that can be found here. As far as I can tell, the prices seem pretty reasonable.
Once again, this is just another French localsā casino that is like most of the other ones. Itās nice enough and worth visiting if you happen to live around there or are going to that area for some reason anyway, but thereās nothing worth going out of your way for. I donāt know why someone from the United States would ever want to go to a casino in France, but if they did, I imagine that they would be disappointedā¦with only a few exceptions.
Casino JOA du Boulou
Our next casino to list is the Casino JOA du Boulou, which is obviously another JOA casino and is located at Rte du Perthus, 66160 Le Boulou, France. We know what to expect here, which is much more of the same as the other French localsā casinos, but letās get into some specifics for those who plan to visit this property.
If the buildingās exterior didnāt have large block lettering that says, āCASINO,ā then the building could be anything. Being from the United States, to me, it looks like it might as well be a standalone Kohlās Department Store, or maybe a Macyāsā¦one of those.
The inside of the property is fairly nice. Itās really well-lit and, while the adornments are fairly spartan, it looks clean and orderly. More than that, there is all kinds of room to get around and machine players will have plenty of space. In fact, thereās nowhere in the casino that looks even the least bit congested. Honestly, the inside of it is kind of reminiscent of the casino floors of a few United States casinos that are located at resort properties.
In addition to the usual casino games, this property is sometimes home to live Bingo, so you will want to check out the Events page on their website to see if there are any Live Bingo events that may correspond to your visit. Between video poker, traditional reel machines and video slots, the property is home to 75 slot machines.
In terms of Live Table Games, this property is home to both Blackjack and English Roulette, however, there is a minimum bet ā¬5, which is more than double what most casinos we have found in France are. When Table Games are not operating, the electronic version of both of these games is available, and naturally, has a lower minimum bet.
The restaurant is called Le Comptoir JOA du Boulou and is done in a style that might remind someone of an American diner. It could be anything, really. It is open for both lunch and dinner services, but there are also grab and go options at the casinoās bar when the restaurant is not operating. In terms of price, given the average for France casinos, this is probably right about there.
There are also a few slot machines in the casinos bar area, which has kind of an eclectic color scheme, particularly the bar itself. Honestly, the bar looks like rainbow cat flew right into it and then coughed up a glitter hairball on it; Iām not sure why anyone would do that. The rest of the room is pretty drab, so because of that, it makes even less sense to me.
They have a conference room area with catering available and it can be reserved for meetings, small conventions, wedding receptions or birthdays.
Ultimately, this is just another locals casino and, for the most part, they are all the same. Mostly, the only real differences between these are what Table Games they have and if they have both Electronic Roulette and Electronic Blackjack, other than that, itās pretty much the same thing anywhere.
If you happen to be in the area, then stop in and check it out, unless you have already been to a French local casino before, in which case you wouldnāt be missing anything not to go. For the most part, other than exterior aesthetics, I donāt think these casinos do much to differentiate themselves from others, though casino-going is kind of less of an exciting thing to do for the French than it is for Americans, generally speaking. I think Iād kind of compare the attitude towards it with our attitude towards bowlingā¦if you have nothing to do and someone brings it up, unless you really like bowling, youāll usually say, āNah,ā but sometimes you say, āSure, why not?ā
Andā¦thatās French casino going. Itās a not really all that exciting thing that you just kind of do sometimes. They tend to go there to eat as much as anything else, for the most part.
This place is no different, NEXT!
Casino Bourbon l’Archambault
The next casino on our list is the Casino Bourbon l’Archambault which is a property located at ZA du, Pont des ChĆØvres, 03160 Bourbon-l’Archambault, France. The aesthetic of the exterior is kind of that of a Medieval Castle, albeit a very small Medieval castle.
The interior of the casino is standard fare, though the Bar area has a design that someone from the United States would think was meant to look kind of like country meets Old West.
The property is home to 75 combined traditional reel slots, video poker and video slot machines. There is a Boule 2000 game as well as electronic blackjack and roulette. People should play the latter two, however, because the house edge of Boule is terrible. That cannot be stated enough.
As mentioned, the property is home to a restaurant and bar that has the following to say about itself:
The restaurant is closed on Wednesday and Thursday (midday and evening) but gourmets are not left out: a catering service at all hours and open every day and offers catering at 250 points or at 10 ā¬ and 500 points BiHappy on other days or ā¬10.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner service the other days of the week and may be a Euro or two more expensive than average, but the prices arenāt too bad.
Thereās honestly not anything else to say about this casino as it is just the prototype, run-of-the-mill, locals French casino. The exterior castle design makes it stand out a little bit and the bar design is pretty unique, but thatās where any difference begins and ends. Thereās plenty of space to get around, but thatās characteristic of most French casinos. If youāre in the area and have nothing better to do, then it is worth stopping in, especially if you are near lunch or dinner service.
Casino de Bourbon Lancy
The next casino for us to discuss is Casino de Bourbon Lancy, which is another locals casino that can be found at 17 Rue du Breuil, 71140 Bourbon-Lancy, France. There have been reports of this casino sometimes being closed on Wednesday and Thursday, but we called the property and were told (at least, I think I understood) that such is not the case and the casino itself is open seven days per week.
The aesthetic of this casino is a bit more modern with reflective darkened glass on the outside of the building as well as a light blue CASINO sign with a little wave design. Honestly, the building looks kind of like some racinos in the United States tend to look.
The inside of the place is very brightly lit, with machines generally well spaced out, but it otherwise nothing special. It honestly would just look like you were in someoneās house if they were to remove all of the machines from the interior, so itās only the machines that really tell you that you are in a casino.
This property is home to a combined 75 machines inclusive to traditional reel slots, video slots and video poker. The property is also home to two live gaming tables, both of which are blackjack. The property houses one electronic roulette device, which has eight seats.
They do state that the overall return of the casino floor is more than 92%, but Blackjack and Roulette are likely pulling that up at least a little bit (assuming that it means the entire floor), so we would assume that low denomination slots are something less than that, even a few perhaps considerably less.
The propertyās bar and restaurant is called Le Quatre Epices (The Four Spices) and is open for lunch and dinner service every day of the week except for Wednesday and Thursday, which might be why some got the impression that the actual casino was closed. When the restaurant is not open, small snacks are available from the casino bar as well as some grab and go options. The restaurant has this to say:
You can’t come to Bourbon-Lancy without going to the casino and you can hardly go to the casino without going to the restaurant.
To admire this lake or get lost in thought, the terrace is also open to those who only wish to have a drink at the bar.
The 4 Ć©pices restaurant is open every day except Wednesday and Thursday from midday to 1.30 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.
At 4 Ć©pices you will discover a menu made up of the great classics of the French brasserie often revisited by the originality of the chef. You will also be able to take advantage of advantageous formulas and menus and the icing on the cake, even if you do not have dessert: the breathtaking view of Lake Bourbon-Lancy.
Anyway, this casino looks more like a casino you might expect to find in the United States from the outside, but when you get inside, it looks more like a Dottyās in Nevada or some small slot parlor in West Virginia or Illinoisā¦some of which that actually are in what used to be residential houses! Anyway, itās a pretty cool little place and is worth a stop if you happen to be around that area, but in terms of the gaming, donāt expect anything that you canāt find at any of France’s other casinos.
Casino Bourbonne-les-Bains JOA Casino
The next casino that we will discuss is the Bourbonne-les-Bains JOA Casino, which I really feel like I might have done alreadyā¦but again, from the American perspective, a lot of these names look really similar to each other. Anyway, this is another JOA Casino and is located at 1 Pl. des Bains, 52400 Bourbonne-les-Bains, France.
The exterior of the casino could be mistaken for having kind of a New Orleans theme, once again, coming from the perspective of someone from the United States. Obviously, that area is very much influenced by the French, so it is almost certainly the French who invented that style.
Once you get inside, it becomes more of the same. The only major things to notice are that the casino is brightly lit and the carpeting looks like what you might expect to find in the room of a very cheap economy hotel. That kind of carpeting exists for one reason and one reason onlyāitās really good at hiding stains. I guess we should at least give partial credit to the carpet for having a lucky theme as it is made up of a bunch of four-leaf clovers.
This property has a wide variety of events, though there doesnāt seem to be an extremely consistent schedule. However, they often do Bingo dinners, karaoke, DJs and cinema nights, so if you want to see if thereās anything going on when you might plan a visit, check out this page.
The propertyās casino floor consists of a total of seventy combined traditional slot machine, video slot machine and video poker gamesā¦which puts this casino floorās offerings on the small side, even by French casino standards. In terms of live Table Games, this property is home to two Blackjack tables and both of those have a two Euro minimum. The property is also home to two electronic gaming devices consisting of electronic English Roulette as well as E-Blackjack.
The propertyās restaurant is known as Le Comptoir JOA de Bourbonne-les-Bains and it has both indoor dining and terrace dining available. The restaurant is pretty much average in all respects, in terms of both offerings and prices. When it comes to the interior, it wouldn’t look much different to someone from the United States than any randomly selected diner.
The propertyās bar is located directly off of the casino floor and some snacks and grab and go food can be had there when the restaurant services are not happening.
As we touched upon, this property is also home to a reasonably priced cinema, so some visitors are likely there for that rather than the casino.
Either way, this little property is nice enough and is probably worth a stop if you happen to be in that area visiting. If you get bored with the gambling, which you probably will rather quickly, then you will always have the option of seeing a movie.
Circus Casino BrianƧon (Formerly Barriere Casino Briancon)
Many listing sites will have this casino property located at 7 Av. Maurice Petsche, 05100 BrianƧon, France listed as closed, which was true, as the Barriere Casino Briancon did close. However, this location would later go on to open up as a Circus branded casino. Letās see what changes, if any, were made to the property.
Thereās really nothing remarkable about the interior or the exterior of the building, though we will say that the interior might be a bit tight in spots. Honestly, this location is quite small as the property is home to only a total of 56 combined traditional reel games, video poker games and video slot machines.
There are two live gaming tables at this property, with the games consisting of what they call Hyper Blackjack and they also have English Roulette. They have two electronic roulette games with a combined 16 seats and one electronic blackjack game with a few seats.
The propertyās restaurant called The Brasserie du Casino Circus de BrianƧon offers decent food at very economical prices. It is open seven days per week and when lunch and dinner services are not ongoing, patrons can grab some snacks or grab and go items from the casino bar.
The bar describes itself thus:
The bar is accessible to everyone in the hall, the lounge area or on the terrace. On the other hand, to access the bar located in the games room, you must present a valid identity document.
Cold and hot drinks, many cocktails with or without alcohol, wines by the glass…
The bar is open every day from 11 a.m.
NB: A bar service is available in the lobby and in the lounge area of the restaurant for those who do not wish to access the games room.
We have to admit that the bar is one of the major standouts of this casino property, just because of the ambiance. Itās got a wide variety of colors and is very dynamic, but the colors and lighting are just subdued enough to allow it to be modern without being overly garish, at least, thatās my opinion. I could definitely understand if some people who donāt even play casino games go to the property to hang out at the bar.
The property is also home to a reception area that can comfortably seat as many as 200 people and is ideal for meetings, receptions, birthdays and small conferences. We would recommend checking out their website and calling for rates if youāre interested.
Thatās everything there is to know about this establishment. The main stand out feature of this property is the ambiance of the bar, so thereās really not much else that would differentiate it from any other local French casinoā¦least of all, game selection. As usual, itās a cool enough spot to check out if you happen to be in that area, but thereās no reason you should go out of your way to visit.
Casino de Brides les Bains
The next casino that we will discuss is the Casino de Brides les Bains, which is another locals casino that can be found at 4 Esplanade des Thermes, 73570 Brides-les-Bains, France. While the city name is the proper name of the Casino, the exterior signage would have it as the Casino 3 Vallees, which is what most would call it.
The exterior of the building has a bunch of neon and some video signage, thereby making it one of the louder French casinos in that respect. In fact, in terms of the exterior, you could almost replace one of the Downtown Las Vegas casinos with this place and, other than the difference in size, probably nobody would know the difference.
On the interior, the property divides their slots mostly between a few little rooms with one row of slot machines on each side. Even if these rooms were at capacity, there would be plenty of space to walk around and players wouldnāt feel uncomfortably close to one another. That said, thereās not quite as much personal space as can be found in some other French casinos.
The property is home to a total of fifty machines which consist of eighteen traditional mechanical reel slot machines, 22 video slot machines and ten video poker games. In terms of live Table Games, you can find both English Roulette (two Euro minimum) and Blackjack, which has a five Euro minimum.
The English translation of the restaurant doesnāt have one and would be called The Heliantis, which is the same thing, except without the French accents. Given that this is the Summer season, as of the time of this writing, this restaurant would be open for lunch and dinner every day but Monday. Winter hours are less than that. When the restaurant is not open, people can get snacks and awesome grab and go items from the bar.
The property is also home to a dance area that often features a Live DJ, but we would recommend calling ahead of time and making sure there will be one for the night you plan to visit if that is important to you.
Anyway, thatās everything there is to know about Casino 3 Vallees. Itās just a small locals place with a restaurant that would be on par with something like your average casino in Montana, or maybe just a little bit bigger. Also, the five Euro Blackjack limit, which would be reasonable for United States casino standards, is 250% of the usual two Euro minimum on Blackjack at most French casinos.
Casino de Bussang
The next casino that we will discuss is the Casino de Bussang, which is another French locals casino and is located at 9 All. du Casino, 88540 Bussang, France.
This establishment kind of looks like an old school country wooden house from the perspective of someone from the United States. Not quite Old West, but sort of along those lines. The inside of the casino offers patrons plenty of room between machines as it is extremely open and very brightly lit. Once again, this establishment is more of a locals hangout than it is anything else.
This property is home to a combined sixty machines which is inclusive of traditional mechanical reel slots, video slots and video poker. The property does not have any live blackjack or roulette tables, but they do have electronic versions of those games. This casino is home to the game known as Boule 2000, which nobody should play, because the House Edge is awful.
Le Refuge is the propertyās sole restaurant with the centerpiece being the large iron fireplace in the middle of the dining area. The restaurant has this to say about themselves:
Le Refuge has long won over many fans who gather for lunch and dinner around the fireplace in the center of the dining room. The refuge offers 3 choices of starters, main courses and desserts (starter, main course or main course, dessert at ā¬14 or starter, main course, dessert at ā¬18). We advise you to leave us your mobile phone number so that you can know in advance all our special operations.
Anyway, the prices here are obviously pretty great, so when you combine that with the unique decor of the fireplace and the wall art, mostly consisting of very colorful portraits that have been redone in an abstract way, Iād strongly recommend checking this restaurant out if you happen to be in the area.
In any event, the only real reason to visit this property is if you want to dine at the restaurant, but maybe play some games while you are there. In terms of the casino offerings, thereās definitely not anything there that you havenāt already seen if you have ever been to any other casino in France.
Casino Cabourg
The next casino that we will discuss is Casino Cabourg, which is located at this address: Prom. Marcel Proust, 14390 Cabourg, France. Thereās really not much to get excited about at this casino, either, as it is pretty much what you would expect from any French casino.
Both the interior and exterior of the casino have what you might call a Riviera sort of theme. Honestly, people who had visited the Las Vegas Strip might look at the design of this property and think, āOh, itās The Venetian-lite,ā well, very lite, in this case.
The interior of the casino is dimmer than many other French casinos and there is a lot of purple. Beyond that, the slot floor plan is designed to offer the patrons plenty of space to move around, as well as plenty of space for their arms when they are sitting down. Per the usual, French casinos tend not to jam people in too tightly, so thatās nice.
The inside might lead one to believe that there are a ton of machines here, but it really isnāt as big as the fact that you can see two stories makes it look. There are only a total of 75 machines when you include traditional mechanical reel slots, video slots and video poker games. There are two electronic table games (Roulette and Blackjack) which account for sixteen seats. There is an English Roulette live table game, two tables for Blackjack and two for No Limit Texas Hold āEm. Finally, the property is home to one Partouche game, which we described more thoroughly in the first casino listed. There are occasional poker tournaments, so check out their website for more details on that.
The property is home to a single restaurant that has this to say:
Facing the sea, homemade cuisine between tradition and spices. We offer you an original setting, with a quality restoration. Dishes made with seasonal products. Come and relax with family or friends. Ideal for your business meals.
Our restaurant is open between 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. and between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
At any time, discover our aperitif boards to share…
– The CarrĆ© VIP offers you a cocooning space with a view of the sea, nestled in the heart of the brasserie. Privatizable for your private & professional meals. Up to 40 guests.
– Les Terrasse du Kaz welcome you from mid-April until the end of September. Almost with your feet in the water, take advantage of a place as magical as it is rareā¦ 3 terraces: 1 on the dyke and 2 protected and heated. Possibility of privatization for Cocktail & reception.
As you can see, there is a view of the seas with their VIP seating. There is also terrace dining available for those who would enjoy that. The restaurant has both lunch and dinner service, with some food items available at the bar any other time.
That does it for this casino which, other than the ambiance (both inside and out) isnāt anything special in terms of game selection. If youāve been to one casino in France, then you might as well have been to them all as they donāt take as much of an interest in having unique themes as some United States casinos do. Of course, France is modeled such that the casinos arenāt all centralized in one place, so they donāt have much in the way of competition in a particular area.
Casino Tranchant Cagnes-sur-Mer | Casino Terrazur
This casino, most commonly simplified to Casino Terrazur, is located at 421 Av. de la Santoline, 06800 Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, which is in the area of the Polygone Riviera.
This building looks more like you would expect a casino to look if youāre from the United States, especially at night, when the lights from the casinoās exterior play off of the water coming out of the casinoās fountains. Itās kind of reminiscent of an extremely watered down version of Mandalay Bay.
Unfortunately, thatās where any uniqueness or even attempt to look good both begins and ends. Upon entering the property, guests will find that the carpeting resembles that of a very low-end economy hotel and that the lights are dimmer than many other French casinos.
Fortunately, the usual case of the slot machines leaving the patrons plenty of room to breathe remains true, but aside from that, the inside is totally generic looking and it doesnāt even look like the casino particularly cared about having colors that work with each other. The theater, however, is pretty nice and reasonably modern-looking, so thatās an exception.
The property is home to a total of 180-190 combined traditional mechanical slot, video slot and video poker machines, which probably puts it just a hair above average in terms of machine count. The property is also home to five live table games, which are inclusive to Blackjack and English Roulette. They have two live Texas Hold āEm Tables and occasionally host tournaments, but you would want to call the property if you are looking for specifics on that.
The property is also home to a restaurant, which is pretty much average in both food, ambiance and prices.
Other than the exterior of the establishment, thereās really nothing eye-catching, much less remarkable, about this casino whatsoever. The inside is not at all visually interesting and the property does not have many games, other than maybe a few isolated slot titles, that you couldnāt find anywhere else. Thereās really no reason to go out of your way to go to this casino unless you happen to be in the area anyway, sure, the outside is neat, but thatās interesting for approximately three seconds.
Casino De Calais
The Casino De Calais is another casino located in France and this one can be found at 59 Rue Royale, 62100 Calais, France.
Thereās really not much to say about the exterior of the casino because, if not for the signage, it could be mistaken to be just some kind of apartment building. The inside of the casino is not terribly interesting, but it is well-lit and you can tell that they put more than zero effort into the decor with the casino chip designs on the walls and the coloration of the floorāwhich borders gaudy. In any event, thereās plenty of space between the slot machines, so nobody is going to be uncomfortable in the casino; I also kind of like how they have different areas where you go up or down a couple of steps, just to break up the monotony a bit.
The property is home to a total of 73 combined traditional mechanical reel machines, video slot machines and video poker machines. Additionally, there is an electronic blackjack machine as well as electronic English Roulette, and those two devices account for fifteen combined seats.
The casino has two live table games, which are Blackjack and Ultimate Texas Hold āEm, so at least the latter of those two is a game that you donāt find everywhere. Finally, the casino is home to a Partouche game, which we discussed at-length in the first casino that we listed.
The Bistro Le Touquetās is the propertyās restaurant which is related to the bar of the same name. Some food items are available at the bar when the restaurant is closed or between services. The restaurant is very modern and quite comfortable, it even has some couches, and is open seven days a week for both lunch and dinner services.
Thatās everything there is to tell about this casino, whose most notable feature is the fact that one of the Table Games is Ultimate Texas Hold āEm and otherwise is exactly like almost every other casino in France. Itās worth stopping by if youāre in the area, especially if you like Ultimate Texas Hold āEm, unless youāve been to a French casino beforeā¦in which case itās just more of the same.
Casino JOA de Canet
The next casino to discuss is yet another JOA casino, this time the Casino JOA de Canet, which is located at 10 Prom. de la CĆ“te Vermeille, 66140 Canet-en-Roussillon, France. Legally speaking, this casino would be (Casino) (City Name), so you know the drill on that by now.
Unusual entryway aside, thereās really nothing unique about the exterior of this casino. Itās basically just a building, except it looks like they added the entryway after the fact, which kind of looks like a tool booth, at least, in the opinion of someone from the United States. In any event, I donāt think the casino entryway was original to the building.
The inside of the casino is extremely dimly lit with almost all of the light coming from the machines themselves. The one thing that we can say about this casino is that their video slot machines are more modern than many other casinos in France as they seem to be reasonably close to the current generation of machines in the United States.
In total, the property is home to 125 combined traditional mechanical reel slot machines, video slot machines and video poker games. Thatās more than about half of the other casinos and less than half.
One area in which this casino stands out, at least a little bit, is in Table Games. In terms of Live Table Games, they have Blackjack and English Roulette (of course), but they also have Ultimate Texas Hold āEm as well as No Limit Texas Hold āEmātwo tables, in fact!
If live table games arenāt open, table games players arenāt totally out of luck because, as one would expect, this casino has both electronic blackjack and electronic English Roulette.
The propertyāsĀ simply appointed restaurant called Restaurant Comptoir JOA de Canet is certainly nice enough, and is comparable to something along the lines of a casual restaurant in the United States, at least, in terms of ambiance. As far as the prices are concerned, they are about average for restaurants located inside of casinos.
Thatās everything there is to say about this location, which is largely similar to many of the other locations that we have discussed, but at least gets some live poker actions and has Ultimate Texas Hold āEm, which some other French casinos do not. Of course, thereās really no reason to go out of your way to see this place. In fact, if youāve ever been to the Las Vegas Strip or Atlantic City, or hell, even a United States locals casino that is on the larger end, most French casinos would probably just be a disappointment. That said, if youāre in the area and in the mood to gamble, you could do worse.
Casino Barriere Le Croisette
Our next listing will be the Casino Barriere Le Croisette, which is located at 1 Espace Lucien BarriĆØre, 06400 Cannes, France.
The exterior of this casino sure wants to make sure you know the building is a casino, as it entrance consists mostly of a series of video walls with gambling related imagery flashing all around that might make casinos in Downtown Las Vegas blush. Itās honestly pretty gaudy, but I guess that at least differentiates it a little from some of the other French casinos.
The interior is really nice as it is reasonably well-lit and the two-level dynamic makes it more visually appealing. The casinoās interior is dominated by both purple and red, with the floor being mostly purple, but the whole look honestly works pretty well in this case.
Unfortunately, the Barriere groupās stupid website never gives the individual machine or tables counts for each casino, rather talking about what the total is, as if that has ever mattered tol anyone. Anyway, we happen to know that there about 300 total traditional reel, video slot and video poker machines, in total, at this property.
Furthermore, they have one of the larger Table Game pits that you will find in France. This casino is home to Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat, Casino War, Boule, Sic Bo and Ultimate Texas Hold āEm. Thatās quite an assortment of Table Games, so makes their offerings more varied in that regard than most of the casinos in the country.
Furthermore, the property is home to a few No Limit Texas Hold āEm tables and features regular tournaments, so we would encourage you to call them for more information if youāre interested in playing in a future tournament.
Le Cafe Croisette is the casinoās restaurant and their website has this to say:
Tasty & gourmet, the CafƩ Croisette menu will delight your taste buds!
Let yourself be tempted by a delicious gourmet platter to share (or not!), a crab tartare with exotic flavors… Or prefer a classic brasserie dish, raw or pan-fried beef tartare or grilled rib steak, accompanied, in moderation, with a wine chosen from a very detailed menu.
For players, special menus set up on certain days of the week or during themed evenings make it possible to obtain tokens in an attractive catering formula.
Between flavors and shows, bet on good taste at the Casino BarriĆØre Le Croisette Cannes.
The average price of this restaurant is 22 Euros, making it ever so slightly more expensive than average, though not by much, and it is open for lunch and dinner service seven days per week. Guests can get food from the casinoās bar outside of restaurant service hours.
The casinoās website also links to a few nearby hotels as Cannes is a major vacation destination.
With that, we would recommend checking this casino out if youāre in Cannes. In terms of game offerings, itās about as close to a United States casino as you are going to get and, to be fair, has a wider variety of Table Games than do even some casinos located in the United States. With that, we would recommend stopping in if you are a tourist in that area, and you should even stay nearby, if you like the spread of Table Games.
Casino Les Princes
The Casino Les Princes is located in the JW Marriott of Cannes and is a popular casino for visitors of Cannes to visit during their time in the area. This property is located at 50 Bd de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France and is another casino that might be comparable to, at least United Statesā locals casinos, in terms of game selection.
From the outside, it definitely resembles an American casino without being too loud about it. Itās probably comparable, at least from the exterior, to something like Resorts in Atlantic City, or some other casino along those lines. It actually kind of reminds me of when the Hard Rock Atlantic City was the Trump Taj Mahal, except as you were closer to the casino and had gotten past the large decorative pieces.
The interior of the casino has kind of a gold and red thing going and it sort of resembles what might be a middle-of-the-road Las Vegas area casino, at least, in terms of the design choice.
The property is home to just over 100 combined slot and video poker machines, which makes it a little smaller than the previous Cannes casino that we discussed. The property has seventeen live gaming tables, which include Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and Ultimate Texas Hold āEm, so not quite the selection of the Cannes casino previously listed, but still pretty good.
The slot machine floor is extremely current, not only by French standards, but the titles are right there with many regional casinos located in the United States, so while they donāt have nearly the number of slot machines that United States casinos do, you will have some of the more current titles to play if you visit this casino.
The propertyās restaurant is called Bistronomic, is open seven days per week for dinner service, and has this to say:
Located in the heart of the Casino with a view overlooking our magnificent games room , your restaurant welcomes you every day, Monday to Sunday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Our chef Baudry and his brigade concoct homemade dishes for you every day with quality products, rich in flavors that will make you travel.
Come and taste a wide variety of cuisine ( Mediterranean, Italian or traditional ) in a sumptuous setting , ideal for all occasions: as a couple, with friends or family.
Don’t miss our special evenings with entertainment in our restaurant!
Opening hours: 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. | Reservations: 04 97 06 18 53
Access for disabled people, access for adults not prohibited from playing, animals not allowed.
Of course, even when service is not going on, you can visit one of the casinoās handful of bars and lounges to grab something quick to eat, so you wonāt starve. They also have a page for special events, but it doesnāt look like much goes on.
Of course, if youāre going to be in Cannes, then you should check out all of the casinos in the area, but this is a good place to consider making your main casino, especially if you are a big table games player. Granted, the selection of games isnāt quite as many as the other Cannes casino above had, but thereās still some diversity there.
Casino De La Pointe Croisette
The last casino to discuss in Cannes is the Casino De La Pointe Croisette, which is found at 5 Rue FranƧois Einesy, 06400 Cannes, France. It is also known as the 3.14 casino, as that is the name of the rooftop bar.
This property is pretty neat because itās home to a rooftop pool and bar, which is obviously not the case in most French casinos. As far as the inside is concerned, itās extremely well-lit, well-spaced and has plenty of windows for guests to look outside at the lush vegetation. Most people in the United States would not think that sounds like typical casino decor, and it isnāt, but there are many French casinos that donāt seem to be designed specifically to try to get people to lose track of time.
Beyond that, even if they did design them that way, itās not like they would be big enough to give the impression of being lost in. In the better part of these casinos, you can probably see the way to the exit from most machines.
This property is home to 75 total machines including traditional reel slots, video slots and video poker. There are fifteen total seats for electronic table games, which is inclusive to a Blackjack device as well as a Roulette device. Finally, they have eight gaming tables for live play including three English Roulette tables, four Blackjack tables and one table for Texas Hold āEm.
As you can see, there are fewer table games and machines here than most other casinos in Cannes, but the main reason for people to visit this property is for the ambiance indoors as well as for the rooftop bar, which is something of a unique feature.
The property is home to a single restaurant that is open for both lunch and dinner service seven days per week, it has this to say:
The bistronomic restaurant in the games room welcomes you every day from midday.
Come and discover a cuisine placed under the sign of finesse and tradition.
In an environmental logic, our restaurant also offers a selection of organic dishes and gluten-free desserts.
Our restaurant is open every day from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to midnight.
To satisfy our customers at any time of the day and night, a snack menu is also available.
Lunch formulas:
Dish of the day – 14ā¬
Starter + dish of the day or dish of the day + dessert – 24ā¬
As you can see, there is a grab and go menu that can hold you over until service hours if you happen to be on property between services or when the restaurant is closed.
Of course, the most well-known restaurant is the 3.14 rooftop restaurant, which operates alongside the rooftop bar. This restaurant is open for dinner service seven nights per week and has this to say about itself:
Between sky and sea discover the new ephemeral restaurant on the Rooftop of 3.14 āThe hidden placeā. Healthy and gourmet dishes, 100% homemade: the recipe for a fun and well-being lunch in a bucolic setting!
In May and June, 3.14 Cannes welcomes its new ephemeral restaurant “The Hidden Place” in a unique setting: the rooftop of the hotel, with a breathtaking 360-degree view over the rooftops of Cannes and the Mediterranean Sea.
It is in a magical and bucolic setting that 3.14 Cannes offers its new formula of lounge bar and restaurant. Open every day until June 30, The Hidden Place welcomes you from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. for a drink or dinner around a healthy and gourmet menu: bowls, sandwiches, gluten-free and vegan desserts, fresh fruit juices… delicate flavors and colorful dishes that will delight the eyes and the taste buds.
Naturally, the main reason to visit this casino is the ambiance, so chances are as many guests are coming for the restaurant, particularly the rooftop restaurant and bar, as are visiting the property to actually play the casino games. Compared to other casinos in Cannes, this one is a little bit smaller (in terms of casino floor) and does not offer as wide a variety of table games as the other locations, but itās still a really neat place to hang out, so we would recommend stopping in if you are visiting Cannes and enjoy blackjack, roulette or video poker.
Circus Casino de Carnac
The next casino that we will discuss is the Circus Casino de Carnac, which is located at 41 Av. des Salines, 56340 Carnac, France, and as you may have guessed, is owned by the Circus Casino group.
Thereās not much to say about the exterior of this building, which aesthetically-speaking, could be anything if not for the signage saying, āCircus Casino,ā above the front entryway. The building itself is nice enough, but if you got rid of the signage, you wouldnāt be able to tell what it wasā¦could be a building with doctorās offices, or something.
The interior of the casino is dimmer than some and is built to focus on a large purple light, which has silhouettes of playing card suits around the large circular light globe. As you would probably expect, the slot machines are very well spaced out from one another, so you donāt have people practically sitting on top of one another as you might in some United States casinos.
At any given time, this property is home to 90-100 combined traditional mechanical slot, video poker and video slot devices. Their website says to have fun on their, āMore than 93,ā machines, which could be a mistranslation, but otherwise, is odd phrasing. It could be meant to say that they have exactly 93 machines as of the time they published that.
The property is home to two live Table Games consisting of Blackjack with a five Euro minimum bet, whereas many other casinos only require a two Euro minimum. They also have Boule 2000, with a minimum bet of one Euro, but with a House Edge of 11.11% on Boule, youād likely be better off just to stick to Blackjack as long as you have basic strategy down. Either way, the House Edge of Boule is terrible, so we would recommend avoiding that game.
This property also has English Roulette and Blackjack in electronic form, with fifteen seats available for Roulette and seven stations available for E-Blackjack.
The property is home to a single bistro style restaurant that appears to be called Circus Bistro. The decor is pretty simple and the prices are what you would expect from a casual restaurant, the seating near the windows offers a decent view outside. This restaurant is closed on Wednesdays (you can get grab and go stuff from the bar when the restaurant is not open), but is open for lunch and dinner service the other six days of the week.
The property is also home to a conference room which can be used for various meeting and receptions, catering can be provided via the restaurant, so you may visit their website if you are interested in calling them for more details on that.
The property tends to have live concerts on Saturday nights, at least, as of the time of this writing. In any event, you can check out the schedule here if you would mainly be interested in visiting this property when there is live entertainment.
Overall, we could recommend stopping by this little casino if you happen to be in that area. The fact that they have regular live concerts, as of the time of this writing, is pretty nice. The restaurant is also pretty good and is reasonably priced. As far as game selection goes, they donāt have anything here that is not in most other casinos in France, so the games are definitely not worth going out of your way for.
Casino BarriĆØre (Carry-le-Rouet)
The next casino that we will discuss is another Casino Barriere location, this time located at Rte Bleue, 13620 Carry-le-Rouet, France.
The facade of this building doesnāt exactly resemble that of most casinos in the United States, but it comes close while being classy. The design of the building could perhaps be called semi-Colonial, from the perspective of someone from the United States, that is. In simple lettering above the front entrance appears the words, āCasino Barriere,ā and they use different colored lights, with lots of purple, to play off of the building itself at night.
The inside of the casino is such that you wouldnāt know you were in the casino, but for the slot machines. It is very brightly lit with very low ceilings and no casino-like theme whatsoever. Naturally, the slots are situated such as to offer the players plenty of room to walk around, and for their arms when they are sitting down, which is characteristic of most French casinos.
For whatever reason, Barriere Casinos do not list the number of machines for their individual properties on their website, but in this case, there are just under 200 total traditional mechanical slots, video poker and video slot games, combined. This casino perhaps has more single line mechanical slots, in particular, than you will find in most other establishments.
The property is home to five live gaming tables, which include English Roulette and Blackjack. It would appear that they have recently added an Ultimate Texas Hold āEm table to the mix, so thatās a game thatās not available everywhere, for those of you who are interested.
The property is home to a bar/restaurant combo that would translate to The Sports Cafe and does what it says on the box. It is open seven days per week anytime the casino is open and is the United States equivalent of fast casual, so you can expect fairly basic food choices that are very cheaply priced.
This Barriere Casino is very much a no-frills sort of locals casino, but the slot selection is better than can be found at many other smaller French properties. The addition of Ultimate Texas Hold āEm was a great idea, as it is a supremely designed Table Game that seems to be gaining popularity in the country, in my opinion, itās the best Table Game there is as it balances a high probability of winning the game with the possibility of borderline-jackpot style payouts and a low house edge.
Casino Barriere (Casino Cassis)
We are going from one Barriere Casino to another with this one located in Cassis, specifically, it can be found at Av. of Professor RenƩ Leriche, 13260 Cassis, France.
This casino is situated in a low building with gold and purple lighting outside and exterior signage over the front entrance that simple reads, āCasino.ā From the perspective of someone from the United States, if you happen to live ina an area that has a good few casinos, you would probably look at this building and figure thatās what it is even without the signage, just because the way it is decorated gives the impression.
The interior of this casino is very well-lit and the style from the outside follows inside with the little walls under the railings very much resembling the outside of the building. Purple continues to be a major part of the color scheme with the carpeting and there are gold accents throughout, especially near the ceiling.
In terms of floor plan, as usual, there is plenty of spacing between the machines such that players have ample room to get around, and more than that, the machines are very organized into little groups. It almost looks like they are lining up for something!
Per the usual, Barriere Casinos donāt offer the slot count for their individual properties, at least nowhere that we can find, but we would call the slot count of this casino somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-150. This property has a few different promotional things that they do thorough the week, at least, as of the time of this writing, so check out the webpage here to see whatās going on around the time of your visit.
The property is home to five different Roulette Tables (live) as well as four Blackjack tables and an Ultimate Texas Hold āEm game. Additionally, there are electronic versions of Blackjack and Roulette for when live Table Games are not operating.
The property is home to a bar and restaurant combination called LāOāZe, which in terms of someone from the United States, could be described as upscale casual. The prices here are a little higher than most other casino restaurants in France, but the restaurant is also a little less basic than the typical casino bistro that you might expect elsewhere.
This property is a little larger than some other local casinos in France and also features Texas Hold āEm. We would recommend stopping in if you are in the area as you can expect something that is at least a little closer to a United States casino experience, when compared to some other French casinos. Naturally, there arenāt many casinos in France that are worth planning a trip around, as the offerings are substantially the same in most cases, but this one is worth a stop if youāre in that areaāmostly for the widely varied table games.
Casino Castera Verduzan (seccv)
The next casino that we will discuss is Casino Castera Verduzan, which is located at 5 Av. des Thermes, 32410 CastƩra-Verduzan, France and is open seven days per week.
Aesthetically speaking, thereās definitely nothing special about the building, from the perspective of someone from the United States, as it is a very simple multi-story building that could just as easily be a boutique hotel if not for the small sign with a floral sort of design that says, āCasino,ā above the front door.
The interior looks a bit more like a casino. Not just because of the machines, that part is obvious, but it also looks more than way because of the medium lighting and red carpeting throughout the establishment. That said, however, the ceilings are low and are just basic drop ceilings with fairly basic lights, so no frills on the casino floor, but a good carpet choice which is enough to create the right vibe by itself.
This casino is open seven days per week and consists of 63 combined traditional mechanical slots, video slots and video poker devices. They state that the floor-wide return to player is in excess of 95%, which is really good, especially when you consider that more than half are slot machines.
The only Table Game available at the property, at least live, is Boule 2000, which should be avoided as having a 11.11% House Edge. Youād honestly be almost as well off just to randomly pick a slot machine as to play Boule, probably better off, as the variance on Boule is not nearly enough to justify that sort of House Edgeā¦the payouts on Boule are hardly lottery-style sorts of winnings.
Le Petit Resto is the propertyās restaurant, which is somewhat elegant in its simplicity. It is decorated with black furniture and there are a lot of cream and gray tones in the ambiance with a nice view outside pretty much regardless of where you are seated. The prices at this little restaurant are quite economical, especially by casino restaurant standards. The establishment is open during most hours that the casino is open and, unlike most restaurants in France, provides continuous full-service during its operating hours. I can only imagine how many Americans visit France and go up to a restaurant only to exclaim, āItās three p.m.,why is the restaurant closed!?ā The restaurant also serves as the casinoās bar.
Overall, the property is nice enough and is worth visiting if you happen to be in the area. The best thing that we can say for it is that you wonāt get hungry if you are there, since the restaurantās full offerings are available anytime that the restaurant is open. As far as the gaming offerings are concerned, itās a really small place so donāt expect to find anything at this casino that you havenāt seen elsewhere if youāve been to any other casinos in the country.
Conclusion
Visitors from the United States will often be shocked, depending on where they go in France, to see how small the vast majority of Franceās land-casinos are.
Whether justified or not, the perception of most United States citizens is that France is a country in which gambling is hugely popular throughout history. Most individuals from the United States would picture huge casinos where everyone is wearing suits, evening gowns and sipping martinis over dozens and dozens of Baccarat tables, whereas, most French casinos donāt even have Baccarat!
Another comparison that would largely surprise citizens of the United States is the fact that Americans are significantly more likely to gamble, as well as become problem gamblers than is true of people from France. That might especially come as a surprise to U.S. citizens when they learn that, while you must be 21 to gamble in a casino in most states of the United States (there are a few states where tribal casinos are sometimes an exception), the legal age to gamble in a casino is eighteen in France.
Furthermore, people from the United States would perhaps expect French casinos to have exotic games that they have ever seen before. With that, they will find themselves surprised when they walk into a French casino just to see that most of the pictures on the slot cabinets and most of the designs (except for on the screen itself) are usually completely in English!
For the most part, French casinos acquire their slot machines after those same machines have already run their course in an American casino somewhere. For that reason, aside from the most popular casinos in France, most individuals from the United States will look at a French casino and think it is two or three generations behind in terms of slot offerings.
The fact that Roulette is an extremely popular Table Game is no surprise, but for some reason, Americans tend to be of the impression that Baccarat (Punto Banco) is extremely popular across France and, while there are Baccarat tables at many of the larger French casinos, Boule, Blackjack and Ultimate Texas Hold āEm tend to be much more popular. Casino War is probably at least as popular as Baccarat, if not a little more popular.
Another assumption that someone from the United States might make is that all of the casinos in France should be elegant, and while there are a few exceptions, that is almost totally untrue. Of course, we tend to have a perception that everything about the French is classy.
In reality, most of the casinos in France are as small as the smallest localsā casino most people can think of. 200 machines, for example, would be above average whilst 300 would make a place huge, by their standards. The average French casino might be slightly cleaner and a little more brightly lit than most U.S. casinos, but even then, there are exceptions as a few French casinos have the very dim lighting that people expect from the United States.
The interiors and exteriors of the building are often plain, but the decor can be anything. Some casinos in France much resemble something like a slot parlor in the states that have those, or something like a Dottyās in Nevada, while others have the color scheme and light level of American casinos.
Many French casinos are located just off of lakes or on the coasts, and in those cases, often offer terrace dining and even occasionally have a few slot machines located in a covered open-air area outside.
Either way, someone visiting a French casino who has only been to casinos in the United States will initially be surprised, but in most cases, may quickly become bored should they visit too many of them as most are small and very much the same as a great many others.
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