Think that casinos equal glamour, think again? Whilst Grosvenor Casino isn't a total dive, it…read morecertainly isn't James Bond. The location doesn help. Anchor Road, despite having about a million flats built on it still doesn't feel like anything except an arterial road into the city centre, and a casino placed here feels very out of place. They've got all the bells and whilstles of a usual casino, with the usual games of chance to try your luck on. It all feels a touch seedy and tired. Things aren't helped by their late night license - you get all sorts of riff-raff getting in after the doors have closed elsewhere. Not the most enjoyable of experiences, and if you're going to be throwing money around then I recommend just going for a big night out.

The casino has provided me with many an expensive after party. They lather you with booze whilst…read moreyou loose your money at their tables- much like every other casino in the world. The shame about this casino is that it is simply too far from the nightlife that surrounds the triangle, and so it rarely sees some of its potentially most loyal customers. Once a year I hear of some lucky student that has made a ludicrous amount of money, but is too drunk to remember. When s/he wakes up they search through their pockets to try and piece the night together only to find a ton tucked up in the back pocket of their jeans. I don't think I will stop chasing that dream- I might have an expensive last year in Bristol!

I visited Gala Casinos one midweek night and after just coming back from a trip to Vegas and…read moretherefore I had low expectations of the British attempt! I was pleasantly surprised that Gala Casinos wasn't actually a seedy old man casino which I expected. It is new, well designed and actually very similar to some of the casinos I visited in America. You have to sign up (which is free) and they give you a swipe card but this does take around 15 minutes which is a bit irritating. You do, however get a free £10 bet on Roulette as a reward for joining. I put all mine on red and lost! Oh well, it was free! The main casino is upstairs and it is very large. There are several Roulette and poker tables, and although it was midweek, it was busy. Additonnaly there is a huge selection of slot machines. The staff are very good at their jobs. They don't talk much, but that's good for me! There is a large bar which is a little expensive but not extortionate and lots of seating for those not wishing to bet. You need to be well dressed to get in. For men you need a jacket or at least a smart shirt, and ladies need to have heals or very posh pumps! No trainers, hoodies or Uggs!!!

I went to a Gala casino for my 21st thinking it would be something a little different to do. We all…read moregot really dressed up in cocktail dresses and the guys wore shirts and smart shoes...we stood out like a sore thumb! There was nothing classy about this place at all. Apart from wardrobe mishaps though, we all had a genuinely good time. Free £5 voucher when you join up, and because it isn't a swanky casino you don't have to feel guilty about not spending loads of cash. I enjoyed watching other people lose theirs! One man was losing hundreds of pounds a go. My friends and I had fun putting 50p on the roulette table. There is a bar with a good selection of drinks and a poker area for those skilled enough to be able to keep poker-faced.

I can't stand casinos, but a couple of times I've found myself dragged here in the early hours…read moreafter works nights out - and since this place opens until 6am (although the bar shuts at 3am) I'm sure it has attracted plenty of others who aren't quite ready to go home after the clubs shut. Cardiff isn't exactly overflowing with casinos, and I think this is the only one in the city - so it's here or nowhere if you like that kind of thing! You have to be a member to get in, unless you're a guest of another member - it's free to join, and anyone over 18 can apply. When I went there, they sorted out the photo and membership card there and then for us - but I have only hazy recollections of the details, so can't elaborate much more than that. What I can remember about the place is that there were lots of comfy lounge-style chairs, a few lecherous gentlemen, a few drunken younger groups gambling small amounts for fun, and plenty of smart businessmen going about their more serious gambling pursuits. The casino has lots of the classic games such as Roulette, Black Jack, Mah'Jong, and Poker - and there were also staff bringing around trays of free sandwiches and hot food, which was pretty welcome at that time of the night/morning! Even though I loathe casinos, I'm giving this 3 stars in a bid to be fair, because as small-city casinos go I'm sure it's fine!

I was sad to see Les Croupiers leave the city centre. I'm not a massive casino fan, as I know the…read morevery basics of probability and realise that if I stood a significant chance of winning, the place wouldn't be able to stay in business for very long. Despite this, I just keep getting dragged back to them at ridiculous o' clock in the morning. When you've gone out after working all day, and you're feeling tired, and sweaty, and drunk, and sleepy and still your friends just want to carry on with the night despite the fact that it's six am and we've just been kicked out of the last chance saloon (Club X), you really don't have much of an alternative. You're too invested in the night to go home by that point, and even if you could escape, you'd be THAT guy on the bus. No! There's only one thing for it. To the casino! Les Croupiers had one thing over everywhere else though. When it opened, it knew exactly what its customers wanted: hot, free food, brought by waiters who were too polite to wake someone if he was happily passed out after his ninth free ham sandwich. And I loved them for that. I wish them all the best in their new location, and having been once since, I can affirm it's every bit as entertaining to watch your friends blow all their money in Leckwith as it is in town. Les Croupiers: I salute you!

I'm not going to lie to you, I don't like gambling so I'm never going to give a casino 5 stars…read more This is in fact one of only two or three casino's that I have been to in this country. The problem is that I was taken to Las Vegas when I was about 16 and the noise was enough to put me off for life, but also its made me very disappointed when I have visited a casino's here. Grosvenor is typical of my disappointment. Its huge, and brightly lit and lacks any kind of atmosphere that I really expect from a casino. I know they do it to keep people awake, but its dull for anyone who doesn't having a gambling addiction. The other thing about this place is that they have random karaoke type entertainment that reminds me of being in Butlins. Oh and the drinks are ridiculously expensive too, but i'd rather waste my money getting drunk!

I love to play poker. And sick of the standard fare pub poker nights, decided to go for the casino…read moreexperience and something a little bit more fancy. I've been fairly regular here over the years, and it's certainly getting less and less popular. About a year or two ago, the poker room was booming, with about 50 or 60 entrants on average and big money wins for top ten finishers. My most recent (and probably last) visit here though saw only 9 people show up, meaning we all sat down for a cash game rather than a full tournament. It was sad to see and rather disappointing, as they don't really advertise anywhere or promote the tournaments in any way. I haven't seen this casino full in a long time though. This is probably just a sign of the times though and to be honest, is probably a good thing, as you are less likely to drunkenly blow that £100 you've been saving if there's none of the hustle and bustle of a booming casino. Onto the other games, and they generally have everything you'd expect - roulette, blackjack, slots etc. These aren't really my thing to be honest but I've had a dabble and the dealers are friendly and decent enough to chat to. The Grosvenor also used to be my main port of call if I ever missed the last train back to Bridgend. It's open 24 hours which is good and we had free tea and coffee for a couple of hours until our next train. Being more of an upstanding, responsible adult nowadays though, it's been a while since I've tried this but worth a punt as a last resort!

Despite the fairly seedy frontage for a relatively run down stretch of Kingswood this is actually…read morequite the gaming lounge. The main focus is on roulette although there's a good selection of other means of gambling to choose from. Most of the stuff here is electronic but don't fret - there are still a few human faces about. This isn't so much the sort of place you and your mates would come on a Friday night, more so somewhere you might nip in on your lunch break mid week.

Lovely environs and decor. The menu was fairly classic with some refreshing twists (eg. we had a…read morestandard English breakfast with chorizo beans, a flair that my partner really liked) and all was delish. The service was very attentive but not obtrusive at all.

We first entered the grand old bank that is now Cosy Club last week for breakfast and promised…read moreourselves that we would return for dinner, so this evening I had tapas (£11.50 for three small dishes) that consisted of small Cumberland sausages, chorizo and fish. The other dish was a New York steak ciabatta (with amazing chips). We ordered wine and washed the tasty meal down before following it up with sticky toffee pudding and a decidedly evil peanut butter cheesecake (which comes in a glass). We like it here. It's grand and light, and the food is good and reasonably priced. What would we change? We would upgrade the condiments, so that the ketchup is better, and that authentic maple syrup is used on our pancakes rather than golden syrup, which is thick and doesn't taste of much. We would also have preferred our meals a bit hotter, as we felt like we had to wolf it down before it got cold. But these are small niggles that can be easily fixed, and probably will be at some point if the professionalism of the staff is anything to go by. They're friendly, not over-familiar, not too pushy, and they seem to want to go out of their way to make sure you enjoy Cosy Club. The wine list is short, but will hopefully improve in time. As of writing, it's only been open a couple of weeks. I look forward to being able to buy Champagne by the glass!