Against all the odds history was made in Nottingham yesterday when the UK’s first legal poker club was given the green light.
The club to be run by the Dusk Till Dawn (DTD) group was issued with a casino license making it and the largest exclusive poker club in Western Europe.
Rob Yong, Managing Director of DTD, says: “I am absolutely delighted as are all my team at the news. It’s been a lot of hard work these last two years but we’ve crossed the final hurdle and we can look ahead to when we open later this year to make DTD the best poker club in Europe.”
Along the way DTD hit a number of snags keeping the doors to the club firmly shut. It was objected to by three casino chains, Gala, Stanley’s and London Clubs International on the grounds of “insufficient demand.”
The objection caused the original case in April 2007 to be adjourned until September 24th.
At the eleventh hour London Clubs dropped out but barristers for both Gala and Stanley’s contested the bid. They argued that there was not enough demand in the local area and the club was not financially viable.
However arguments from DTD barristers and two letters of support from the Gambling Commission, in itself an unprecedented event, swayed the magistrates in DTD’s favour.
The Chairman of the Betting and Gaming Committee said in his verdict: “I can safely say that if you had come to us with the intention of obtaining a full gaming license we would have denied it.
We would have been finished by lunch however as you wish to open a poker only club, we feel there is demand for the facilities you offer. As such we will issue you a license with the condition that only poker can be played there and no slot machines will be allowed.”
In another historic moment this was the last case heard under the 1968 Gambling Act which has now been replaced with the 2005 Gambling Act. Under the 1968 Act it is possible to apply for a gaming license with certain restrictions .
However under the 2005 Act a gaming license automatically gives the licensee the right to host all casino games. Due to the 1968 Act being replaced with the 2005 Act all licenses are now automatically converted effectively allowing DTD to host all casino games despite the magistrate’s restrictions, which has been an argument of the casinos.
It is expected the club will make its debut in late November 2007. With 45 poker tables which can comfortably seat 405 players at any one time DTD is the largest poker club in Western Europe and the second largest in all of Europe.
