Crockfords (casino) explained

Casino:Crockfords
Location:London, W1
Date Closed:October 2023
Owner:Genting Group
Casino Type:Land-based

Crockfords (also known as Crockfords Club or Crockfords Casino) is a closed casino in London located on Curzon Street.[1] [2] [3] The casino took its name from the former gentlemen's club in London called Crockford's.

History

The modern incarnation of Crockford's was founded in 1928 or 1929 as a bridge club, located at 21 Hertford Street.[4] [5] It was founded by dissatisfied members of the Almack's bridge club, led by Colonel Henry Beasley and a Mrs. Bates. The name was chosen after one of the founders read a news item about the original Crockford's club having been established 100 years earlier.[6]

The club moved to 16 Carlton House Terrace in 1934.[7]

UK gambling laws were loosened by the Betting and Gaming Act 1960, leading to Crockford's evolution into a casino, one of over 300 that opened in London in the following years.[8] Businessman Tim Holland raised £48,000 to buy Crockford's operating company in 1961 and introduced chemin-de-fer (a variety of baccarat) to the club.[9] [10] By 1963, Crockford's claimed to be the biggest chemin-de-fer parlor in the world, with an annual handle of £25 million.[11]

In 1966, Crockford's was sold to Pakistani businessman Aziz Fancy.[12] [13] [14] Fancy then sold the club in 1968 to Gilbert Benaim and Joseph Khaida for $2.4 million.[15] [16] Authorities denied the renewal of Crockford's gaming license due to undisclosed concerns about Benaim and Khaida, leading to the club's closure in 1970.[17] [18] Maxwell Joseph then bought the shuttered club for £175,000 through his casino company, Curzon House Investments, with plans to reopen it.[19] Crockford's reopened in October 1972, by which time Curzon House Investments had been acquired by Coral.[20] [21] At the time, the casino had seats for 400 gamblers, with games including roulette, blackjack, kaluki, craps, punto banco baccarat, stud poker, and backgammon.[22] [23]

In 1981, Coral was facing possible cancellation of its gaming licenses, and sold Crockfords, along with other casinos, to Lonrho.[24] [25]

Crockfords moved to its final location, 30 Curzon Street, in 1983.[26] [27] [28] The building was a Grade I listed historic town home built in 1771 for the Marquess of Bath.[29] Ladbrokes had renovated the building to serve as a casino, but the company's gaming licenses were revoked before it could open, so the leasehold was sold to Lonrho.[30] [31]

Lonrho sold its casino division, including Crockfords, to leisure company Brent Walker in 1987.[32] [33] Brent Walker bought the freehold interest in the building from Daejan Holdings in 1988 for £17.5 million.[34]

Brent Walker then sold the club for £50 million to a management buy-in team financed by Montagu Private Equity in 1989.[35] [36] [37] In 1993, Crockfords became publicly listed through a reverse merger with TV-am plc, a defunct TV production company, which became Crockfords PLC.[38] [39] The company changed its name to Capital Corporation in 1995.[40] [41] Capital Corporation was then acquired by Stanley Leisure in May 1999.[42] [43]

In September 1999, Kerry Packer reportedly lost £11 million ($16.5 million) at Crockfords, overtaking the previous British record loss at the time of £8 million by Greek millionaire Frank Saracakis, which also occurred at Crockfords.[44]

Genting Group acquired Stanley Leisure, including Crockfords, in 2006.[45] [46]

In 2012, poker player Phil Ivey, won £7.7 million after beating the casino in a session of punto banco baccarat, but was refused payment due to allegations of edge sorting. Ivey admitted to edge sorting, considering it a legitimate strategy and later sued the casino, but the court ruled in favor of Crockfords, stating Ivey was "cheating under civil law".[47] Ivey appealed this ruling, but lost his appeal in October 2017 in the UK Supreme Court.[48]

In October 2023, Crockfords closed permanently. Genting Group stated that "there are a combination of factors which have put high-end London casinos at a competitive disadvantage to other global market places and this has led to an unsustainable future for Crockfords in Mayfair".[49]

See also

External links

51.5064°N -0.1491°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Evolution Launches Dedicated Live Casino Areas for Genting and Crockfords. Casino News Daily. 2016-02-09. 2016-03-15.
  2. Web site: The house wins as Phil Ivey loses High Court battle against Crockfords casino. Anne Jolis. Coffee House. 2014-10-10. 2016-03-15.
  3. Book: William Norman Thompson. Michele Comeau. Casino Customer Service: The Win Win Game. 1992. University of Nevada Press. 61–. GGKEY:AC3LKWT974X.
  4. Book: Leather Armchairs: The Book of London Clubs. Charles Graves. Coward-McCann. 1964. 161. Crockford's was resurrected as a club in 1928 and was given its name purely because one of the founder-members had noticed a paragraph in the London Evening Standard which was a reprint of a news item exactly a century before about the start of the original Crockford's..
  5. News: Round the clock at Crockford's. The Observer. 7 April 1963. Maurice Richardson. Newspapers.com. In 1929 the club was restarted by Colonel Beasley, and in 1934 moved to Carlton House Terrace.. (Part 2 of article)
  6. News: 100 Years Ago. Evening Standard. 27 January 1928. Newspapers.com.
  7. News: House-warming at Crockford's. The Daily Telegraph. 8 March 1934. Newspapers.com.
  8. British Gaming Act of 1968. NYLS Journal of International and Comparative Law. Joseph M. Kelly. Winter 1986. 8. 1. 33-103 [35]. 2023-11-12.
  9. News: Crockford's takes on a casino air. The Observer. London. 3 December 1961. Roy Perrott. Newspapers.com.
  10. News: Big-time gambling comes to London as club opens. The Birmingham News. 14 December 1961. Richard C. Wald. Herald Tribune News Service. Newspapers.com.
  11. News: High-stakes gaming with casual air. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. John Crosby. 1 May 1963. Newspapers.com.
  12. News: Hard going for Santa Claus. The Guardian. London. 11 June 1966. Newspapers.com.
  13. News: £1M for Isle of Man hotel and casino. The Guardian. London. 7 June 1966. Newspapers.com.
  14. News: London idea: Gaming room for the young. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. AP. Eddy Gilmore. Newspapers.com.
  15. News: French buy casino in London. The Miami Herald. 16 January 1968. The London Express. Newspapers.com.
  16. News: Crockford, famed London club, will lose its gambling license. The New York Times. 14 January 1970. 2023-11-12.
  17. News: New home problem for Crockford's bridge players. The Daily Telegraph. London. 1 April 1970. Newspapers.com.
  18. British Gaming Act of 1968. NYLS Journal of International and Comparative Law. Joseph M. Kelly. Winter 1986. 8. 1. 33-103 [50]. 2023-11-12.
  19. News: £175,000 deal may save Crockford's gambling. The Daily Telegraph. London. 5 May 1970. Newspapers.com.
  20. News: Gaming club owner raises the roof. The Guardian. London. 10 October 1972. Peter Harvey. Newspapers.com.
  21. News: Crockford's: A plush casino opens again. Los Angeles Times. 22 October 1972. Tom Lambert. Newspapers.com. (Part 2 of article)
  22. News: London gambles in Luxury. The Age. Melbourne. 9 November 1972. John Stevens. Newspapers.com.
  23. News: 8 to 5 says there'll always be an England. The Los Angeles Times. 8 December 1974. Mary Blume. Newspapers.com.
  24. News: Lonrho buys Coral casinos. The Guardian. London. 10 January 1981. David Simpson. Newspapers.com.
  25. News: McNee attacks 'backdoor route' to owning casinos. The Guardian. 18 February 1981. London. Newspapers.com.
  26. News: Ladbroke cashes in on casinos. The Daily Telegraph. 10 July 1982. Newspapers.com.
  27. News: Gaming Act 1986 (notice). The Guardian. 16 February 1983. Newspapers.com. A license has been granted under the provisions of the Gaming Act 1968 for Crockford's Club, 30, Curzon Street, London W1Y 7AE.
  28. News: Rowland moves into Playboy. Manchester Evening News. 2 November 1983. Newspapers.com. Lonrho is already making £10m a year from two gaming clubs in London — Crockford's round the corner in Curzon Street and the International Sporting Club....
  29. News: Sold... for £2,720,000. Daily Mirror. London. Philip Mellor. 28 June 1973. Newspapers.com.
  30. News: Ladbrokes to appeal as court defeat sends shares tumbling. Leicester Mercury. 17 July 1979. Newspapers.com.
  31. News: Lonrho bets on a better address. The Daily Telegraph. London. 16 January 1982. Newspapers.com.
  32. News: Lonrho cashes in its chips. The Guardian. London. 30 June 1987. Mark Milner. Newspapers.com.
  33. News: Minister gives bids all-clear. Daily Post. Liverpool. 5 August 1987. Newspapers.com.
  34. News: Brent Walker snaps up freehold. The Daily Telegraph. London. 20 December 1988. Newspapers.com.
  35. News: Brent Walker agrees to £50m Crockford's buy-in. The Independent. London. 10 March 1989. Newspapers.com.
  36. News: Garry's wheel of fortune spins full circle. Evening Standard. London. 2 May 1989. Newspapers.com.
  37. News: Casino comes to market via TV-am. The Herald. Glasgow. 6 August 1993. 2023-11-25.
  38. News: Crockfords joins the game. The Independent. London. 2 September 1993. NewsBank.
  39. Full group accounts made up to 31 December 1993. Crockfords PLC. 24 August 1994. 2-3. Companies House.
  40. News: UK Company News: Crockfords. Financial Times. London. 2 May 1995. NewsBank.
  41. Certificate of incorporation on change of name. Capital Corporation PLC. 21 April 1995. Companies House.
  42. News: Capital recommends Stanley bid. Financial Times. London. 31 March 1999. Elizabeth Robinson. NewsBank.
  43. Full group accounts made up to 30 April 2000. Stanley Leisure. 22 September 2000. Companies House. 52.
  44. Book: Nick Constable. This Is Gambling. 10 May 2011. SMT Publishing. 978-0-85712-445-6. 27–.
  45. News: Malaysia's Genting confirms takeover of UK's Stanley Leisure. Agence France-Presse. 9 October 2006. NewsBank.
  46. Group of companies' accounts made up to 31 December 2006. Genting Stanley PLC. 28 July 2007. Companies House.
  47. Web site: Phil Ivey Loses £7.7 Million "Edge Sorting" Court Battle Against Crockfords Casino. Brett Collson. PokerNews Global. 2014-10-08. 2016-03-15.
  48. News: Poker star loses £7.7m Supreme Court claim. BBC News. 25 October 2017. 28 October 2017. www.bbc.co.uk.
  49. News: After 195 years, Britain’s oldest casino has closed in Mayfair. TimeOut. 27 October 2023. Amy Houghton. 2023-11-05.

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