Star City Casino

When i looked at the previous reviews for this I was astonished not only to find one review, but the fact it wasn't even about this casino! I felt compiled to write a review and give Star City Casino of Australia the proper review that it deserves.

During my travels around Australia i spent a month in Sydney (please see my other reviews about Sydney) and was amazed by the diversity of the attractions available. Star City Casino is one of the most extravagant, luxurious and star quality attractions that Sydney has to offer, whether you are a backpacker, on a hen or stag night or there on an adult family holiday.

The outside of the building is utterly impressive adorned with lights (the firework name "Star City" formation was fantastic), moving escalators, cascading waterfalls and water features, extensive plants and trees and a stream of limos lining up to get inside.

The building itself holds a stage theatre (when we was there they were holding the first Dusty Springfield the Musical and was set for a world tour) a range of restaurants, bars, an expensive hotel with a range of rooms available, the casino itself and plenty of shopping. There is also a cloak room and there is a charge for this service (unless you're a member) as backpacks are not allowed in the casino.

When entering the casino itself (after going up several flights of escalators) make sure you are presentable, there are a list of long rules about how to dress, and trainers are certainly not permitted. On the casino door are several security staff and you will see these all around the building. Under 18s are strictly not permitted, and you see people getting asked for ID, (even my partner had to produce ID and he is 24!) I found this was good however because there was no chance of goby teenagers wandering about the place.

Inside is a range of gambling to suit every taste and financial budget, from human spun roulette (they even have computer run versions), to slot machines to computerised dog and horse racing. There is a restaurant (with discounted meals if you produce a member's card) and several bars with expensive and flashy drinks. There was flashing lights, music (even a live band at one point) and they even have a huge fish tank on display which holds several reef sharks within its contents, adding to the enormous slender of the room.

The room was filled with every type of individual you could imagine and was bursting at the seams for people to lay down their chips at the tables. My partner and I found ourselves joining the membership (which is free unless you wish to become a gold member) and was given $10.00 free to play either at the machines or on the tables. My partner attempted at roulette and failed miserably....I however opted for the slot machines and won an additional $13.00 on my first go. With the membership came free machine drinks, (3 per day) ranging from hot chocolate, tea, coffee to coca cola and water and discounts on the meals. Additionally we were added into the prize draw for $1000.00 on the hour every hour. They also provided several highlights such as a free chocolate fondue foundation with marshmallows on sticks.

After an hour of spending time watching and play a range of games and tables, my partner and i wandered up to another level on the casino and found our grubby selves amongst well dressed and suited men and women playing a minimum $500.00 bet on a table. Some even ranged up to $10,000.00 per bet. We casually declined drinks (and then found out that they were free) and realised we had some how managed to pass security and had wound up in the exclusive gold members club.

Overall this experience was amazing because it was my first time in a casino. The facilities are well catered for a range of individuals, whether you want to go for the big $10,000.00 bet in the gold exclusive club or a mere $0.50 on the slot machines. It was also well staffed; all the tables and slot machines were well positioned to allow comfortable moving around the room and had a range of restaurants and bars. I would recommended to anybody (even if you don't gamble) to go see for yourself this dazzling gem of Sydney.