Aberdeen Soul Casino
The Soul casino in Aberdeen is, without a shadow of a doubt, the nicest looking fitout you will see in the UK at time of writing. I used to rave about the new Genting designs like Sheffield, Southend and so on as well as Manchester 235 in its day, but this is something else altogether.
It’s in a converted church, and not just any old religious relic, a proper one with stained glass windows, a spire type thing and the whole shebang. Once you’ve figured out that the entrance to the casino is around the side – the front entrance is for the separate bar / restaurant – you wander up the stairs and onto quite the loveliest gaming area you could hope for. From the deep red colours to the huge arched window at one end, with your churchified columns around the floor, it’s just a great place to play.
In terms of what’s there, your slots are at one end of the place, and are generally a little bit on the old side. There are also promotional posters referring to them as “bandits” – not sure as a marketer I’d be emphasising anything that implied robbery from the customers, but I guess that’s their choice. They also have the TITO (Ticket in Ticket out) system across slots and electronic roulette, making life a lot easier for everyone.
There are a few oddities – a host desk for one example. Quite a few casinos have tried this sort of thing in the UK, but they never seem to work, and indeed this one wasn’t staffed. They also have the biggest lamp shades on the planet in the casino – they look great, and I reckon could double up as two-man arctic survival shelters.
I also wonder about the wisdom of having huge posters around inviting players to “self-ban” – a process which is more officially known as self exclusion. I’m all for ethical operations, but the scale and number of these posters is a bit off putting when you’re just trying to have a little punt.
Anyway, while it might be slightly stretching the point to say that it’s a must see – Aberdeen is a long, long way off the beaten track – the Soul site really is a gem. If you are having a losing run, and like puerile childish humour, you can always sit back and stare at a truly ginormous organ at the far end of the casino ….
