Manchester235
Manchester235 Stratford
Manchester235 is the casino made famous by a number of Manchester United players over the years, such as Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen. It´s right in the heart of the city. The Chelsea lot go to the Park Lane Club in London, the Red Devils head here.
We know it´s popular with the footballers, but what´s it like inside, and specifically, what´s it like playing roulette at Manchester235 Casino?
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The casino is on Watson Street (full address is Manchester235, Great Northern, 2 Watson Street, Manchester, M3 4LP, Telephone: 0161 660 7759. It advertises itself as a 24 hour gaming, dining and drinking venue. That´s why the footballers like it then! It doesn´t really feel like Vegas when you´re on the outside to be honest, as you are pretty close to the arches under the railway with an MOT garage, a tyre re-fitters and an NCP car park. But hey, once you get inside, you can forget all about that, and least there is a big NCP car park if you bring your car! Your first 3 hours of parking are free. Manchester235 is a part of London Clubs International – a Caesars Entertainment business.
It´s in the Great Northern Railway building- they´ve added a swish bridge over the road and a glass extension which glams things up a bit.
They have an open door policy for people over 18 years (you will need ID if you look under 21). Entry is free and you don’t have to be a member to play. It´s worth a visit for the restaurant alone- the James Martin Manchester which has been featured in The Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants. This is actually set away from the casino, so you don´t need to play and eat, although you´ll probably end up having at least a flutter.
Manchester235 Casino
This casino is arguably the top of the list of all the casino’s in Manchester. It’s spread out over 3 floors with a poker lounge on the ground floor and a Chinese restaurant, then upstairs you´ll find plenty of roulette (normal tables plus electronic roulette) plus black jack and slots etc. with a decent sized cocktail bar and stage area for live acts. There´s a function room upstairs for private parties and the James Martin restaurant is on the Top Floor.
Roulette Tables
If you are a roulette player, you are well catered for with plenty of tables plus a wide selection of electronic games with an added twist- the machines are networked in to a progressive jackpot which can be won randomly by anyone playing the machines. It´s a £4,000 maximum jackpot and there is no additional cost involved- the jackpot is funded from the standard roulette house edge.
For a chance of winning one of the three mystery prizes, gold, silver or bronze, you just need to be betting on the machines.
Their normal roulette table are called American Roulette tables (confusingly) as they are actually single zero European Roulette tables. Maybe they though American Roulette sounded more Las Vegas? Anyway, the important thing is that the house edge is 2.6% and not the 5.2% that you´d get on a wheel with 2 zero pockets. They can call them what they want, as long as they get that straight!
And here is the best bit. The roulette tables play La Partage, which means that any bets not linked with the winning number will be lost to the House, unless the number is zero in which case all stakes on the even chance bets will lose half their stakes.
This reduces the house edge on even money bets down to a very respectable 1.3%. A big thumbs up for Manchester235 on this one, their “American Roulette” is effectively “French Roulette” with an English layout.
If you want to play on your own, you can do that as well on their Touchbet and Automated Roulette machines.
Restaurants
There are 2 restaurants at Manchester235. The James Martin Manchester we have already talked about. The food is excellent, but be warned- it´s pretty pricey. There is also a Chinese restaurant called Ocean Treasure on the ground floor.
Slots
Plenty of IGT and Aristocrat games like Cleopatra and Pharaoh’s Fortune plus progressive slots such as Fort Knox.
Summary
Manchester235 is the best casino in Manchester and it stacks up pretty well against other casinos in London and across the UK. We probably still prefer the Hippodrome, if we are pushed, but as an option in the North-West, you can´t knock it. We like their policy of playing La Partage on the even money bets on the roulette tables, and the Progressive Electronic Games are different too. It doesn´t feel too Las Vegas when you get outside though, just saying!