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When it comes to the world of classic casinos The Ritz Club is a name to conjure with; a name that evokes images of glamorous high-rollers dressed to the nines in exquisite evening wear, casually placing eye-watering bets in elegant, Edwardian surroundings. In short, the sort of place you imagine James Bond could enjoy a perfectly shaken Vodka Martini while relieving an evil criminal mastermind of a few million quid at the Baccarat table. Living up to this reputation, the real-world Ritz Club Casino in the heart of London's West End is truly one of the world's most famous and fabulous gaming clubs. However can a visit to their online casino really bring a whiff of that exclusive Ritz Club je ne sais quoi to your lowly desktop? We donned our best dinner jacket, shook a passable martini and logged on to find out . . .
The Welcome Page of this online casino is certainly discreet, eschewing the gaudy colour schemes, loudly trumpeted promotions and faintly saucy images that some rival casinos employ. Very understated. However this discreet, almost minimalist design does make this casino somewhat less user-friendly for players who are absolute novices to online casinos and need more up-front published support and tuition to enable them to participate. This, of course, could possibly be a deliberate decision to position this online casino as a destination for the more seasoned, high-rolling player i.e. very much an online extension of the real-world Ritz Club Casino.
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For players who already have some experience of online casinos getting into the action at the Ritz Club offers no unexpected hurdles; it's a simple process to initiate the download of the Cryptologic software used as the engine of this casino and subsequent installation is both clearly guided and reliable. If it's more convenient, you can also order a free CD of the software, although this option is not revealed until you click to download the software, which seems a little counter-intuitive to us. What this online casino doesn't offer are non-download games, so unless you're running a version of Windows (Windows 98 or later) we're afraid you'll have to fetch your virtual coat and find another casino - perhaps it's a deliberate ploy to keep out the riff-raff who use Apple Macs . . .
The very sound reason that Ritz Club London Casino uses exclusively download games is that it allows all its games to be executed with an uncompromising level of rich detail. This online casino clearly states its intent to offer 'a product that captures the essence of the [Ritz] club and reflects its unique heritage' and, by George, we think they've got it! The look and feel of the thirty odd games offered are simply superb, enhanced with excellent audio cues and effects that make for a really authentic ambience - the graphical attention to detail even goes as far as recreating aspects from the actual Ritz Club casino floor. Take a virtual wander around the exquisitely rendered tables and it's clear that this online casino attracts some serious, high-rolling players; again, it feels very much like an extension of the real-world club. The atmosphere is definitely one biased towards exclusivity and European cool, so fans of brasher, Vegas-style gaming will probably want to look elsewhere.
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As one would expect with an upmarket brand such as the Ritz Club London, this online casino's customer service is as good as you'll find anywhere, and all money transactions are handled through the excellent security of the Ecash system. Promotions in the shape of Welcome Match Bonuses, and Reward Points are offered, although they are not particularly exceptional incentives, and we didn't see any other prize promotions beyond these during our review period, which was a little disappointing. That said, it rather feels as if The Ritz Club is aiming to attract a discerning clientele who appreciate the fundamental quality of its online casino experience and are less concerned with the baubles of supplementary special offers.
Few online casinos can boast such a glamorous real world heritage as the Ritz Club London, but, ultimately, when you're drawing up your shortlist of casinos to visit and try out should you be 'putting on the Ritz'? Well, we think that the Ritz Club will best suit players who already have some experience of playing online casinos, and that are looking for a product that's focused on providing an outstandingly authentic feel and is attracting serious, high-rolling customers. For newcomers to the world of online casinos, the understated layout of the Ritz Club's website might make locating information useful to novices a little tough. Rival online casinos have far better published user guides on their sites, however, to balance this criticism, there are the freephone and e-mail customer service lines available to help here. The bottom line is that this is a site that's all about quality over quantity - Ritz Club may offer fewer games than many of its competitors, and be resolutely focused on providing download games only, but what games! If you like European style casinos and can run Windows software you really should click to the Ritz, do the download and see for yourself just how gorgeous online gaming can be in this classy casino.
click here to play at Ritz Club London now |
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