The Genting Newcastle has had a few identities over the years, having been Stanley’s, Circus and now Genting. It’s just behind Newcastle’s train station, and has some pretty nice views over the river valley.
This seems to have been the first Genting to be refurbed properly, a couple of years ago. It certainly used to be a bit of a neon nightmare, but now in tune with most new casinos has gone a lot darker and moodier. There are echoes of the latest Genting sites, although as the first major style change this site is quite a bit darker than places like Southport, Southend and so on – although it’s still a really nice fitout.
The Genting is a split level affair, although nothing much really appears to happen upstairs. Apparently some tortured-cat style karaoke and other functions happen upstairs, and I believe it used to be the restaurant. The eating options now are just a few tables in the entrance area of the casino, next to the very pleasant bar. There’s also some great booth seating in the main bar, perfect for watching the action.
The slots are arrayed around the curved wall on your left as you enter – the usual up to date options for the most part – although they’re on a bit of a walkway, so there are constantly people wandering behind you as you play, not the most comfortable. They have some of the new bookie style games too, good for a bit of variety.
There’s a good sized card room towards the rear of the casino, and one more thing – if you ever visit, take a look at the amount of promotional stuff on display. Not a square inch of wall is visible for posters, and sitting in the bar they’ve gone bonkers with the menus and promotional material – we had to move it all onto another table so we could see across the building.
All things considered it’s a really nicely put together casino, and the handiest spot from the train station.
