Genting Casino London Chinatown poker and tables

What Poker Actually Looks Like Here

The building at 93-107 Shaftesbury Avenue has been tied to poker for longer than most visitors realise. Long before the Genting branding went up, the address was occupied by the Fox Poker Club, which opened its doors in September 2010 as a poker-only operation. Around 6,500 square feet were laid out purely with cash games and tournaments in mind, unusual for the West End where mixed gaming floors are the norm. It was, for a while, one of the few genuinely specialist poker spots in central London.

Genting Casinos UK later bought the business and, in 2014, relaunched the property as Genting Casino Chinatown. That marked a clear switch in focus - the former poker club became a full-service casino with roulette, blackjack, slots and other staples sitting alongside the remaining poker content. The Genting Poker Series was still running nationwide through the middle of the 2010s, operating as a separate live tour, and in 2017 Genting linked up with PokerStars so players could qualify online for certain live events. Looking back, that partnership essentially closed the book on any serious live poker infrastructure under the Genting name in the UK.

Then the pandemic arrived in 2020. When Covid-19 restrictions hit, Genting Casinos UK closed all live poker across its British venues and later confirmed that it would not be coming back. This was not framed as a temporary suspension. It affected every property in the estate, and the Chinatown casino on Shaftesbury Avenue was included in that blanket decision.

So by 2026, the position is simple: there are no live cash poker tables here and no scheduled poker tournaments in the calendar. Multiple independent directories state this outright. MyLocalCasino, for example, notes that both live cash games and tournaments are absent. Anyone heading into this part of London specifically for traditional poker will usually end up a few streets away at the Hippodrome Casino on Cranbourn Street, which still runs a dedicated poker room with regular cash sessions and tournament series.

What Genting Chinatown has chosen to keep are poker-style games that are banked by the house. In these formats you are wagering against the casino, not against other players sharing the table. Listings on CasinosAvenue mention Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Casino Hold’em Poker as part of the current mix. Directory entries have also referenced electronic poker-style terminals on the floor at various points. All of these sit as standard table or electronic games, not in any kind of separate poker room.

The Table Game Floor

Putting the poker variants to one side for a moment, the main casino floor looks much like any other regulated UK property of this size. Players will find American roulette wheels, blackjack tables, baccarat and punto banco spread across the live area. Around that core sit banks of electronic roulette terminals and slot machines, which fill a significant portion of the space. Some directories also mention mahjong being available, something that aligns well with the Chinatown location and the audience the venue tends to attract.

Genting Casino Chinatown operates under a licence from the UK Gambling Commission held by Genting Casinos UK Limited. Locally, the premises licence is on file with Westminster City Council. In the official UKGC register, the site appears as “Genting Casino London China Town, 93-107 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DY.” It falls under the usual Gambling Act 2005 arrangements and the standard Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice that go with it.

Visitors do not have to apply for membership just to walk in. Genting does run a loyalty scheme, which unlocks offers and other benefits for registered players, but entry itself is open. The minimum legal age is 18 and staff can ask for photo identification at the door, so carrying valid ID is important. The dress code sits in the smart casual bracket: vests, football shirts and hats are listed as not acceptable. Policies like that are fairly typical for a West End casino trying to keep a relaxed but tidy atmosphere.

Getting There and Visiting

The casino sits directly on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the busy Soho and Chinatown area. Leicester Square Underground station is usually the simplest way to get close, served by both the Northern and Piccadilly lines. From there the walk is short and mostly lit, with other venues all around. A cluster of bus routes also pass nearby, which makes sense given the central Westminster setting.

There is no private car park beneath or beside the venue. Drivers tend to use commercial car parks instead, such as Q-Park Chinatown, Q-Park Leicester Square or Q-Park Soho. Realistically though, anyone already in London often finds the tube more straightforward, especially if leaving late at night.

For a first visit, a few basics help things run smoother:

1. Bring government-issued photo ID that shows you are 18+; door staff can ask to see it.
2. Aim for smart casual clothing. Wearing vests, football shirts or hats can lead to being turned away at entry.
3. You can sit down at the tables without membership, but signing up for the Genting loyalty scheme on-site gives access to promotions.
4. Live table games generally begin early afternoon, usually from around 1:00 pm or 2:00 pm, depending on the day.
5. The casino remains open into the early morning. Different sources list closing times between 4:00 am and 6:00 am, so late-night visitors should double-check with the venue.
6. The main contact number listed for the casino is +44 (0)20 7494 3020.

Opening hours do appear slightly differently depending on which directory you read. Casinos.org.uk, for example, shows times of 12:00 pm to 4:00 am every day. Other listing sites report closing at 6:00 am instead. The most reliable place to confirm current hours is still the official information pages on gentingcasino.com or gentingcasinos.co.uk, which are updated by the operator.

One extra practical point applies to this and other central London casinos. If planning a late session that cuts close to the last tube or bus, phoning ahead or checking the operator’s own website on the day is worth the effort. Third-party listings are sometimes slow to reflect minor changes to operating hours or temporary adjustments.

Playing House-Banked Poker Variants

Before sitting down at a poker-branded table here, it helps to know that the format is not traditional player-versus-player poker. Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Casino Hold’em are both structured as house-banked table games. A dealer runs the game, and each person at the table is simply trying to beat the dealer hand. There is no pot to be split between players and no bluffing each other. Standard poker hand rankings still matter, but outcomes are settled against the fixed house hand and payouts are listed on a paytable printed on the felt or nearby.

A typical hand of Ultimate Texas Hold’em at Genting Chinatown will feel roughly like this:

1. After entering the casino, find the main table gaming area; floor staff can point out where the poker variants are running.
2. Change cash into chips, either directly at the table with the dealer or at the main cashier desk before sitting down.
3. Take a quick look at the posted minimum and maximum bets so you know the limits before you place your first chips.
4. Put down your Ante and Blind wagers in the marked betting boxes in front of your seat, then wait for the deal.
5. Receive two hole cards. At this point, you decide whether to raise immediately within the allowed range or simply check and see more community cards first.
6. Once all community cards have been dealt and the betting stages are complete, the dealer exposes the house hand and compares it with your final five-card hand.
7. The dealer settles the bets according to the paytable. If your hand beats the dealer, the Blind pays out based on the strength of your final combination.
8. Collect any winnings or add more chips if needed for the next hand; tipping the dealer is a common courtesy, but it is not compulsory.

For players whose main aim in central London is live cash poker or structured tournaments, the alternative nearby is still the Hippodrome Casino on Cranbourn Street. That property operates an actual poker room with regular cash tables and posted tournament schedules. Sites such as PokerAtlas and similar directory platforms are used by a lot of players to check current London poker room timetables before deciding where to sit in.

From Fox Poker Club to Genting Chinatown

The change from Fox Poker Club to Genting Casino Chinatown maps quite neatly onto how Genting reshaped its UK presence over roughly a decade. When Fox Poker Club opened in September 2010, it did so as one of the only London venues that focused entirely on poker. The layout was created around tournament tables and cash games rather than roulette wheels or slot banks, and it built up a regular crowd of poker players making specific trips to Shaftesbury Avenue.

Once Genting stepped in and acquired the business, the focus shifted. The relaunch under the Genting Casino Chinatown name in 2014 pulled the property into the broader Genting UK network, which at that time operated casinos across England, Scotland and Wales. For a few years, the Genting Poker Series still moved from venue to venue as a national tour, and the 2017 link-up with PokerStars looked like a firm commitment to keeping poker visible within the brand.

Everything changed with the 2020 closures. When live operations shut down under pandemic rules, Genting chose not to bring back player-versus-player poker afterwards. The Chinatown site followed the same pattern as the rest of the estate and reopened as a venue focused on house-banked games, electronic products and slots. The old poker room format simply did not return.

Corporate details sit behind this. Genting Casinos UK Limited lists its head office at Genting Management Office, First Floor, Resorts World Birmingham, Pendigo Way, Birmingham, B40 1PU. The wider Genting Group runs casino and resort properties in several parts of the world, of which Chinatown is one London piece. Within that portfolio, the Genting Casino London Chinatown property is pitched as a relatively relaxed and accessible spot compared with some of the more formal West End casinos nearby, while still sitting under the same UK regulatory framework as the rest of the group.