Casino Mar 09 P38-39 2/26/09 9:49 am Page 38
DUSK TILL DAWN
Dusk Till Dawn
It was hard work to get it open, but Nottingham’s Dusk Till Dawn poker
venue is thriving. Kevin Stanley finds out why…
W
ith 45 tables in the main card room very thorough in their checks, having gone through
and one High Roller table in the all the necessary hoops and passed all the financial
VIP section, Dusk Till Dawn (DTD) checks we then encountered huge resistance from
is the largest (and only) poker- the three local casinos which forced our magistrates
dedicated venue in the UK. All to be delayed. We had full support from the
tables are custom built for DTD and the chips and Gambling Commission but were up against the fact
cards are of the highest quality. The club boasts 24 that we required a full casino license to run our card
plasma screens displaying the DTD purpose-built room which no individual had ever achieved before.
tournament clock, Sky Sports and other poker We also had opposition from Stanleys, LCI and Gala
productions. Kevin Stanley spoke to Rob Yong, DTD’s although LCI withdrew their objection at the start of
owner, about the project. the final hearing.
We took legal advice and consulted the UK
Casino International: What were the problems Gambling Commission for a solution to the six-
that you faced while you were trying to open? month court adjournment. We totally understood and
Rob Yong: Trying to find suitable premises that respected the reasons for the three casino groups
were close to an airport as well as having strong lodging their objections at the hearing; they had a
motorway links was a challenge. We knew that we duty to protect their businesses from another casino
wanted to allow for players to come from overseas and opening in Nottingham. We only ever intended for
for DTD to be able to host international events. We DTD to be a genuine ‘poker only’ venue but we did
also knew that we needed a minimum of 10,000sq ft need a full casino license to operate poker legally,
with substantial parking facilities. We looked all over especially after the Gambling Act was passed.
the country and finally found the ideal solution here However, we could not expect the objectors to believe
in my home city of Nottingham. that we would never take advantage of this license
We decided that rather than just open a small card and operate casino games in the future, despite our
room operating without gaming board consent we assurances to the contrary.
would go legit and apply for a license, but we then
found out that we would need to secure the premises CI: How did you overcome these problems?
before even applying. Smilin Sams, a disused pub and RY: By preparing a solid case. We accumulated as
bowling alley, ticked all the boxes. It has parking for many statistics as possible to show the growth of
225 cars, it’s only 10 minutes from M1 and it is also poker and the potential for a club of this size. We
just 15 minutes from the East Midlands airport as wanted to show that DTD could put Nottingham on
well as having several hotels nearby in the city centre. the map along the same lines as The Crucible did for
We negotiated a 15-year lease, which turned out to Sheffield. We also got letters of support from all the
be a £3,000,000 commitment. Then we started the major magazines and tournament organisers such as
arduous task of applying for a gaming license, EPT / WPT.
refitting the premises and assembling a team of
directors and staff. CI: What it was like dealing with the Gambling
We wanted to create the largest and most Commission?
prestigious poker venue in Europe, all created with RY: They were very helpful even though it was a
the player in mind. We felt that Dusk Till Dawn long process with some severe obstacles. We believed
would quickly fill a gap in the market. With the they wanted us to succeed as the first fully licensed
explosion in poker in recent years Europe has card room so they could then start to look at closing
needed a prestigious purpose built poker club down the illegal card rooms.
catering for all bank rolls. We wanted DTD to look
spectacular, and it does. CI: Describe your customers. Who are they?
What are they looking for?
CI: What were the problems in Dusk Till Dawn RY: We get in the region of 750 to 900 players a
acquiring a license? week with our £25 Wednesday No limit event
RY: Being an individual with no gaming averaging 150 players. That particular event has
background the Gambling Commission had to be peaked at an impressive 204 players. These are the
38 MARCH 2009
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