nightlife
ON A ROLL
Doing naughty things that Koreans aren’t allowed to at Seven Luck casino
Written by Scott Hammel | Photographs courtesy of Seven Luck
I
gamblers try to guess where a Wheel of Fortune-style wheel will stop spinning. In short, Seven Luck has something for everyone.* (*Except, unfortunately, for poker players. Seven Luck has discontinued its poker rooms, so for lovers of Texas Hold ’Em the Walker Hill Casino is the place to go. Its poker room is open from 3pm on Monday through Friday, and 24 hours on weekends. Walker Hill also offers frequent cash prize tournaments.) On this day, I’m in the mood for blackjack, so I search for a table to join. Like all casinos, Seven Luck offers a number of tables with varying minimum and maximum bet levels. I find a table that allows minimum bets of 10,000 won and take a seat. Immediately, the woman on my right explains that the table is on a hot streak and asks if I would mind sitting out the next couple of hands. I don’t. There are certain rules of etiquette to follow, and one is to not jump into a game when the players are on a positive roll.
walk out of the elevator on the second floor of the Oakwood residential tower in Gangnam and make my way down the hall toward the entrance of the Seven Luck Casino. Though I don’t think it ’s required, I feel compelled to pass through a metal detector at the end of the corridor, where an attractive young woman awaits. “Welcome to Seven Luck. May I see your passport or membership card, please?” This is the first difference I notice from casinos I’ve visited in Las Vegas and Reno: it seems everyone who works at Seven Luck is attractive, whether they are cocktail waitresses, dealers, money exchangers, or even pit bosses. Other differences that strike me are that it’s far better lit and relatively quiet compared to Vegas casinos.
Universal carpet I have neither my passport nor a membership card, but this does not prove a problem, as the woman at the front desk accepts my alien registration card for entry. The young woman looks over my ID, types something into her computer, and then wishes me a good time. Inside now, traipsing across a spongy—and mildly garish—carpet that is apparently a signature of casinos around the world, I wander through and around rows of tables hosting a variety of games for the gambler on a mission, or just the curious visitor. Caribbean Stud Poker. Three Card Poker. Baccarat. Blackjack. Each game has its devout fans—and a staff member who will be happy to explain the rules to anyone interested in playing.
Great for socializing
MorE INfo Seven Luck Casino is open 24 hours a day throughout the year. It is only open to foreigners, who must bring a passport or alien registration card to be admitted. Website: www.7luck.com
GETTING THErE
In the mood for blackjack If cards are not your thing, Seven Luck also has roulette, slot machines, video poker, the Chinese dice game “Tai Sai,” and something the casino calls the “Big Wheel,” where 72 SEOUL September 2010
Gangnam branch: Samseong Station, Line 2, Exit 5 or 6 millennium Seoul Hilton branch: Seoul Station, Lines 1 & 4, Exit 8. Go straight for 100m and take the road between the Daewoo Building and SK Namsan Building.
While I wait to play, I order a rum and coke (drinks in casinos are free!), grab a menu, and choose a cheeseburger and fries (food is free, too!). Then I join the game. To my left sits a Korean-Australian man in town for business. The woman to my right (the one who asked me to wait) is a Korean who lives in Korea but possesses American citizenship. She tells me her daughters live and work in the States. To her right sits a Japanese national who is learning the game from her Japanese partner. As the dealer flips cards our way, we all wish each other luck, then proceed to laugh and groan and sigh and cheer as the cards decide our fate. Really, this is the appeal of a trip to the casino—meeting new people and sharing a random experience. And if you’re lucky, you might even take home some extra cash.