Your Guide to a Casino Night Out in Plymouth

Around the world, casinos are considered a fantastic place to visit on a night out. Las Vegas, Nevada, is built entirely around casinos; they’re bright lights, exciting games and celebrity endorsements. Macau has dedicated decades to building a casino-centric city and has swiftly become the top place for casino fanatics to visit in all of Asia. 

Even here in Plymouth, we have casinos that slots fans and poker pros can visit. Sure, they may not be quite as lavish as Las Vegas’s offerings or as exotic as Macau, but they’re certainly a good time. Here, we’ll be looking at the casinos you can visit for a great night out in Plymouth, as well as how to prepare for your big night and where else you should consider going. 

1. Plymouth Casinos

Plymouth Hoe (CC BY-ND 2.0) by Robert.Pittman  

Caption: Ever considered visiting a shopping centre for a night out? You will now.

As Plymouth is a seaside town, it’s no surprise that we have plenty of amusements arcades up and down the promenade. Some of these arcades even have slot machines nestled away at the back, often behind large glass screens. Still, while those games may be well and good for a casual Saturday afternoon, they’re not actually Saturday night worthy. No, if you’re looking for a night on the town playing slots and table games, you want to visit a proper casino. Fortunately, Plymouth is home to two, and they’re even close together so you don’t have to go far to get your casino fix. 

Both of Plymouth's casinos are situated in the Armada Shopping Centre - one can be found on Union Street while the other in Derry's Cross. If you’re looking for a little bit of Las Vegas in Plymouth, this is the place to go. 

For a more serious casino vibe, we recommend the Union Street venue. Although they don’t have quite as many games as their competitors, each and every game they do have is a big deal. For example, most of the 13 gaming machines within the Union Street casino have jackpots of over £10,000 to offer, and that doesn’t even include the Power Link Progressive jackpot that eight of the machines are linked to. As for table games, there’s American roulette, electronic roulette, baccarat, blackjack and several varieties of poker. Since there’s a late bar in the venue as well, chances are you’ll find yourself playing the few games they do have a long time.

Meanwhile, over on Derry's Cross, there's a whole entertainment complex awaiting your arrival. They have a restaurant, a bar, a sports lounge, a conference room and more. As for their casino games, options include roulette, blackjack and poker, as well as a number of popular slot games like Cleopatra and Lucky Lady’s Charm. 

2. How to Play Casino Games 

Before heading to any casino, it’s crucial that you do a little preparation. Visiting a casino isn’t like wandering into a nightclub or heading to a bar, casinos require a little more dedication. After all, you’re there to play games and chances are you want to win some of those games, or at least know what you’re doing while playing them. Fortunately, there’s rarely a large learning curve when it comes to teaching yourself how to play casino games.

Chance games like slots and roulette are, by far, the easiest to master. Once you’ve had a couple of spins on the wheel or the reels, you’ll soon grasp how it all works and while that doesn’t guarantee you’ll win it does make it more fun. Card games like blackjack require a little more skill, as your decisions will determine whether you win or lose, so we recommend you do a little bit of practising before heading to the big leagues. Poker is the big one; the one that you’ll need to have a good grasp on before you enter into a casino if you plan on playing it. There are so many variants, rules, hands and betting techniques that novices can quickly lose their way, and nobody wants that. 

Speaking of betting techniques, even if you’re not planning on playing poker specifically, we do encourage you to look into them. To continue playing games and having a great night you must manage to hold on to some of your cash, so making sensible wagers is incredibly important. Of course, we don’t expect you to learn every betting strategy there is in the world.

Instead, try researching the most popular ones for your game of choice, or look into which wagers you should never make, as every casino game has one. For example, you should never do the five-number bet in American roulette or a tie bet in baccarat. By learning just some of these casino tips before your night out, we guarantee you’ll be more prepared to play than most other customers in there. 

3. Make a Night of It 

Once you’ve decided on the perfect casino with the best games for you and done a little bit of research on how to play, it’s time to hit the town. The first thing that most people consider before going on a night out is, what should I wear? Fortunately, casinos often have a dress code that is both easy to follow and completely reasonable. 

Plymouth’s casinos suggest wearing smart-casual attire. There’s no need to go full James Bond (or James Bond’s lady companion) when selecting a casino-appropriate outfit, but you don’t want to turn up looking scruffy with a muscle vest and joggers either. Instead, aim for the middle: smart trousers or jeans with a smart shoe for guys and anything fancier than a hoody and ripped jeans for women. Another tip to remember is that casinos will often turn away individuals wearing football shirts as they may stir trouble on the casino floor. Hats are also not permitted in many establishments, as your face needs to be clear for CCTV cameras. 

Really, you want to dress as though you’re visiting a cocktail bar or a fancy restaurant, which you may also be doing. As both of our casinos are part of the Armada Shopping Centre in South Plymouth, so there are plenty of places to go either before or after the casino. There’s Australian sports bar Walkabout, wine bar The Chancel, Chloe’s classic French cuisine restaurant and Lorenzo’s, which specialises in Mediterranean food like tapas. Just down the road, there’s also a Marco Pierre White while on the very shores, past Hoe Park and Hoe Promenade, you’ll find The Waterfront pub. With so many different bars to visit, food to try and cocktails to sip it’d be a shame not to try at least a few of these places, right? 

As we said before, Plymouth may not be a Las Vegas or a Macau, known worldwide for its casinos, but we certainly know how to have a great night out at the few casinos we have. So, regardless of which casino you choose, we hope you have a fantastic time.