Crockfords (casino)
Casino
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Crockfords (also known as Crockfords Club or Crockfords Casino) was a casino in London located at Curzon Street.[1][2][3] The casino took its name from the former gentlemen's club in London called Crockford's. It closed permanently in October 2023.
| Crockfords | |
|---|---|
| |
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 Interactive map of Crockfords | |
| Location | London, W1 |
| Closing date | October 2023 |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Owner | Genting Group |
| Website | www |
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.[4] 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.[4][6]
The club moved to 16 Carlton House Terrace in 1934.[4][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.[5][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.[16][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.[26][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.[37][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] Beginning in 2017, the Crockfords brand name was reused for a luxury hotel located at Genting Highlands, with another property in Las Vegas subsequently opening in 2023.