- Terrific staff: friendly, helpful and mostly English-speaking
- Diverse entertainment, including the occasionally roving belly dancer. Gotta love that
- Only casino players’ club on the island
- Highest gaming limits in the DR
- Hard to get seat at tables during peak times
- Like most casinos, smoking is allowed, which can be a drawback
- Pounding music from the disco on one end of the casino floor can be deafening
- They had rushed their opening in mid-December 2007, so some construction was still going on
- No free drinks
- Address: Av. Dominicus Esquina Av. Wayne Fuller
- Phone: 809-685-1717
- Admission: Free
- Hours: 3 p.m. to 3 a.m., daily
- Other amenities: Shops, restaurant, theater due sometime in spring 2008
The casino is a terrific addition to the La Romana region, opened mid-December 2007 but perhaps a little too soon; when I visited in mid-January, much remained to be done, including replacing the brown-stained plywood restroom stalls with something a bit more elegant and befitting the stylish atmosphere the casino aspires to. (A grand opening is scheduled for spring 2008.)
The casino offers Las Vegas style gambling with a Caribbean twist, and boasts the highest table limits in the DR. The table games are vastly more popular than slots; shortly after opening, management cleared out half the slot machines to make room for more tables. Even with that, it’s hard to find a seat at the tables between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Roulette is the top draw, with blackjack not far behind. Dealers are friendly and helpful, like most of the Dominican people.
A computerized player-tracking system is being installed to reward loyal players. Other future plans include a retail area of a dozen or more high-end shops, a Vesuvio restaurant (the original Vesuvio, in the capital of Santa Domingo, is said to be one of the island’s best places to eat) and a 300-seat theater, where we can only hope we’ll find more talent like The Elvis of the Dominican. Oh, and do try the native rum, Ron Barcelo, on the rocks. It’s smooth, it’s sneaky and it’s so helpful in taking the edge of losing at the slots or tables.
