Craps is one of those games that’s great online, where you can get very fast action and play anonymously from the comfort of your own home – but it’s also one of the most exciting and action-filled gaming experiences at a bricks-and-mortar casino. When you walk into a casino and see a large group gathered around a table, and the dealer very nearly smiling – that’s the craps table.
However in some of Europe and definitely in the UK, craps is not a very common game. Amazingly, for a city which invented the game of hazard, which then developed into craps, it’s extremely difficult to find craps tables in London casinos.
Elsewhere, in places like Macao, craps has only been known and played for a decade or so but they’re now catching up fast, as the city becomes a key gaming destination.
Let’s see where the best bricks-and-mortar casinos are worldwide, for a great game of craps wherever you are.
The Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco
The Casino at Monte Carlo is legendary, famous worldwide for its elegance and history. Monte Carlo is located in the tiny principality of Monaco, near the South of France. The Casino features in many plays, films, songs and books and is still a favourite visiting place for celebrities and the elegant set.
http://www.casinomontecarlo.com/casinos-2/gaming-room/
The Casino features American table games, including craps. The minimum bet for craps is €10 ($10.5) and the maximum bet on the public tables is approximately €750 ($800) – check on arrival for up to date limits. It is 1x odds, so you may want to better your chances – and you can, becaues there are two locations in Monte Carlo for playing craps.
The second one is the more informal and modern Sun Casino where there are a large number of slot machines and also a craps table. It has lower table limits, better odds and you don’t have to be formally dressed.
Macau – Wynn Hotel and Casino
The Wynn hotel is a five star luxury hotel with amazing facilities, so you won’t be surprised by the fact that it has over 500 table games and 375 slot machines.
http://www.wynnmacau.com/en?gclid=CNPb-Z3q59ACFW0A0wodGuoGCw
Craps has only been played in Macau for the last ten years or so, and at some venues the game is played more slowly than you may be used to. 3-4-5x odds are available at the higher end casinos, such as the Wynn Hotel and the Venetian. Minimum table limits are mostly between $15 and $25. Maximum table limits are about £5000.
Las Vegas – Caesar’s Palace
Its name is synonymous with gaming and every year 40 million people make their way to Las Vegas to gamble. Equally iconic is Caesar’s Palace.
https://www.caesars.com/caesars-palace/casino/table-games
The Palace is very welcoming to new craps players, helping them learn the basics and encouraging them not to be intimidated by the table markings or the craps lingo.
However, for the most favourable odds, Casino Royale comes highly recommended. It’s on the Strip and it offers 100x odds on two tables which is difficult to find elsewhere. Not quite as glamorous as some of the others – but a great place to play. The betting limits are from a minimum of around $3 to a maximum of $500.
The Golden Nugget has maximum bets up to $5,000 and good table odds – 6x to 10x.
Crown Melbourne, Australia
There are only 17 casinos in Australia, and this is Melbourne’s.
https://www.crownmelbourne.com.au/casino
This is another of those casinos that is happy for people to learn craps, and clearly thinks it’s a great game. It’s apparently the case that you get better craps payouts here than in the US. For example, hard hops which might pay 29 or 30 in the US, pay 33 to 1 here.
There’s a strong Asian influence in the Australian casinos, and you’ll get the chance to try out some dice games that are completely new – if you’re adventurous enough. One of the great benefits of the Crown’s website is that it gives the rules for games.
By the way – you’ll see responsible gaming messages all over the Crown’s website – with the government sitting just down the road they no doubt want to be good corporate citizens.
Lola’s Casino at the Hippodrome, Leicester Square, London
Most casinos in London don’t host craps tables and it’s not a particularly popular game. But we’ve searched all of the casinos to find you a game – just give them a ring before you set off to double check that the craps tables are available. The venue is Lola’s Casino, an amazing space underneath the Hippodrome in Leicester Square: http://www.lolascasino.com/
You also get to see this amazing casino which features burlesque dancing girls and superb period décor.
Conrad Punta del Este – Uruguay
This is a Hilton hotel set in a stunning beachside location.
http://conradhotels3.hilton.com/en/hotels/uruguay/conrad-punta-del-este-resort-and-casino-PDPCICI/index.html
The casino has a reputation for being a little unatmospheric, except for – you guessed it – the craps table. Reports indicate that the player can take 3x odds but the field bet only pays 2 to 1, on both the 12 and the 2.
So that’s our round-up of craps round the world – it seems that wherever it’s played, the craps table is always the liveliest one in the casino.
