Casino Canberra
Encyclopedia
Canberra Casino is a casino
located in Civic in the central part of the Australia
n capital city of Canberra
. It was the first legal casino to open in the City after the City was given Federal approval to open a casino in the years just prior to Self Government. The Casino is relatively small compared with other casinos in Australia. It has blackjack
, roulette
and many other games. It opened on 29 July 1994, after vociferous opposition from Dr Hector Kinloch
of the Residents Rally
, although a temporary casino had been put in place before that at the National Convention Centre, which had opened in 1992. Former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke and the ACT's first Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett were among the guests at the large opening party hosted by Dr Leo Walner, the then head of Casinos Austria, who were the winning bidders for the casino licence. Bob Hawke was the winner of the Golden Roulette Ball that was used for the first spin of the first roulette wheel in the temporary casino.
The Casino has the only licence to operate gambling tables in the Australian Capital Territory
. It is unlike many casinos in that it does not operate poker machines
. The Casino has in the past tried to lobby the government to allow poker machines in the Casino, but failed due to the efforts of the gambling industry in Canberra's clubs, who fear the loss of revenue from poker machines there. For the Casino to be granted a licence to operate poker machines the Territory's legislation needs to change. For that to happen there needs to be a majority vote in the Assembly but, despite the amendment being tabled on two occasions, the number of Members of the Legislative Assembly who have voted for the amendment have not been in the majority.
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
located in Civic in the central part of the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n capital city of Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. It was the first legal casino to open in the City after the City was given Federal approval to open a casino in the years just prior to Self Government. The Casino is relatively small compared with other casinos in Australia. It has blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
, roulette
Roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
and many other games. It opened on 29 July 1994, after vociferous opposition from Dr Hector Kinloch
Hector Kinloch
Hector Gilchrist Kinloch was an Australian academic and politician.He was born Boston, Massachusetts USA in 1927. He travelled to the England where he graduated from Christs College, Cambridge with first class honours in history 1949. After graduating he served in the US Army for three years...
of the Residents Rally
Residents Rally
Residents Rally was an Australian political party, with four candidates elected to the first Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly at the 1989 Australian Capital Territory general election. Residents Rally were led by Canberra human rights barrister and lawyer, Bernard Collaery....
, although a temporary casino had been put in place before that at the National Convention Centre, which had opened in 1992. Former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke and the ACT's first Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett were among the guests at the large opening party hosted by Dr Leo Walner, the then head of Casinos Austria, who were the winning bidders for the casino licence. Bob Hawke was the winner of the Golden Roulette Ball that was used for the first spin of the first roulette wheel in the temporary casino.
The Casino has the only licence to operate gambling tables in the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
. It is unlike many casinos in that it does not operate poker machines
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
. The Casino has in the past tried to lobby the government to allow poker machines in the Casino, but failed due to the efforts of the gambling industry in Canberra's clubs, who fear the loss of revenue from poker machines there. For the Casino to be granted a licence to operate poker machines the Territory's legislation needs to change. For that to happen there needs to be a majority vote in the Assembly but, despite the amendment being tabled on two occasions, the number of Members of the Legislative Assembly who have voted for the amendment have not been in the majority.