Wildcard: any info on New Zealand appreciated...

[Wildcard]

planning to be in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown in a couple of weeks. I am aware of Sky City, but not other venues or conditions.

Thanks for responses.

Wildcard

[Andrew W Scott]

Here is my current New Zealand report:

There are casinos in five of New Zealand's cities:

AUCKLAND

This is NZ's biggest city population approx 1 million. It is in the North island. There is one casino here called Sky City, it is New Zealand's biggest casino.

CHRISTCHURCH

The is the biggest city on NZ's South Island. There is one casino there it is own by Aspinalls.

DUNEDIN

The city is also on NZ's South Island. There is one casino there I am 90% sure it is also own by Aspinalls. Hereinafter in this report I will refer to it as Aspinalls Dunedin.

QUEENSTOWN

The city is also on NZ's South Island, and is famous as a ski resort town. There are two casinos there, Sky Alpine (owned by Sky City) and a small privately owned casino 200 metres down the road call The Wharf.

HAMILTON

A casino in this city has just opened. My information on this is flimsy, I don't even know the offical name of it yet.

Details of each of the five casinos are:

SKY CITY AUCKLAND

Decks: 8.

Offical pen: 2 off the end (ie. 75%) - but you can hunt for a little better.

Rules:
1. Double any two cards that don't include an Ace (so you can't soft double but you can double on hard 5, 6, 7 and 8).
2. No hole card but lose the original bet only on dealer naturals (note this is as per Queensland not as per Crown, if you split and go bust you still only lose the true original bet).
3. Split non-Aces to form 3 hands, no RSA.
4. No surrender.
5. Dealer stands soft 17.
6. Double after split allowed. Note that these rules are standard throughout NZ and result in a BSE of -0.52% (for 8 deck games) and -0.49% (for 6 deck games).

There are approximately 50 BJ tables in the casino (on the main gaming floor), and approximately 9 CSMs, the CSMs are predominantly on the lower stakes tables. Table limits are $5-$250, $10-$250, $25-$1000, $50-$2000 and $100-$2000. There is usually at least one $100 table on the main gaming floor. The main gaming floor includes a room open to the public called the Alto room. This room is a hi-middle stakes area not unlike the Teak room in Crown.

All these amounts are in NZ$ and 1 NZ$ = US$0.4148.

The VIP lounge has no special name, it is just known as the VIP lounge. Entrance is by invitation only and the room is full of $100 tables.

ASPINALLS CHRISTCHURCH

Decks: 6.

Penetration: Average about 1.2 off the end (ie. 80%).

Rules: Exactly as per Sky City Auckland. These rules result in a BSE of -0.49% (for 6 deck games). There are approximately 14 BJ tables in the casino (on the main gaming floor). There are no CSMs. About two tables are $25 minimum (maximum $1000 I think?) and the rest are $5 and $10 mins. There is a VIP lounge and the limits would be tailored depending on the players in there.

ASPINALLS DUNEDIN

Decks: 6.

Penetration: Average about 1.2 off the end (ie. 80%).

Rules: Exactly as per Sky City Auckland. These rules result in a BSE of -0.49% (for 6 deck games). Aspinalls Dunedin is approximately half the size of its Christchurch counterpart. There are approximately 7 BJ tables in the casino (on the main gaming floor). There are no CSMs. One table is a $25 minimum (maximum $1000 I think?) and the rest are $5 and $10 mins.

There is a VIP lounge and the limits would be tailored depending on the player in there, expect to be playing alone.

SKY ALPINE QUEENSTOWN

Decks: 8.

Penetration: 1 off the end (ie. 87.5%). They have pressure on them to match The Wharf casino 200 metres down the road (see below).

Rules: Exactly as per Sky City Auckland. These rules result in a BSE of -0.52% (for 8 deck games). A very small casino. There are approximately 4 BJ tables in the casino (on the main gaming floor).

There are no CSMs. They are all $5 and $10 mins.

There is a VIP table somewhere that they would dust off for you. Expect extreme scrutiny. Of course the limits would be tailored depending on the player in there, you will be playing alone.

THE WHARF QUEENSTOWN

A very small privately owned casino.

Decks: 8.

Penetration: 1 off the end (ie. 87.5%).

Rules: Exactly as per Sky City Auckland. These rules result in a BSE of -0.52% (for 8 deck games). There are approximately 4 BJ tables in the casino. There are no CSMs. They are all $5 and $10 mins. There is no VIP. A difference from the other NZ casinos is that the shoe here is covered (but not the discards).

They are very sensitive to money here, you can not win much dough without them freaking out. Sometimes you feel like you have got more money than them.


_____________________________________________


I hope this information is helpful to players, I only ask that if you find any errors in the above that you let me know (some of this data is up to two years old), and that if you visit there I'd love to hear about your trip, please email me if you want to. Happy hunting.

AWS

[Wildcard]

Thanks for the excellent information!

I may get to play Auckland (Sky City) and Queenstown. Can you clear up the dress code issue there. It seems Sky City requires a jacket at some level, or is that the norm throughout NZ?

Can I drop $100 US bills on the table and get about $200NZ in chips, or what is the best way to do this?

Hope to be there week after next...not looking forward to the 13 hour flight from LA, but I'm sure Te Anau and Milford Sound will reward the journey!

Will spend a couple of days at Waitangi and up to Cape Reinga. Flying then into Christchurch to catch the Tranzalpine to Arthur's Pass and back, then driving to Queenstown via Fairlie, Twizel and Wanaka. Two days in Te Anau for the Milford experience...perhaps a neat helicopter ride.

Any suggestions on the best jet boat ride in Wanaka?

Thanks again Andrew...if I get to play I'll try to update you when I return.

I've included my email address in case you care to share any "must do" items in Auckland, Bay of Islands, Christchurch or Queenstown area.

BTW, I spoke with a lady from Auckland today...she used the term "crack hot" (I think), can you define this for me? She used it like "not so crack hot"...

Regards,
Wildcard

[Parker]

Great post - excellent info.

[Zdriver]

Locals tell me the main floor at Sky City Auckland is 8D or CSM; but that the VIP room is still a 6D game with 75-80% pen.

The new casino in Hamilton is called "Sky City Riverside". Small casino with only 20 tables in total.

NZ casino websites:

Auckland: www.skycity.co.nz

Hamilton: www.skyriverside.co.nz

Christchurch: www.chchcasino.co.nz

Queenstown: www.skyalpine.co.nz
no website for the Wharf(?)

Dunedin: www.dunedincasino.co.nz

Hope this helps,

-Zdriver

[Magician]

> Thanks again Andrew...if I get to play I'll
> try to update you when I return.

Anything to report?

> BTW, I spoke with a lady from Auckland
> today...she used the term "crack
> hot" (I think), can you define this for
> me? She used it like "not so crack
> hot"...

"not so crash hot" perhaps? As in "not as hot as it's made out to be".