- Wrest Point Casino
- Wrest Point Hotel
- Wrest Point Casino Accommodation
- Wrest Point Casino Operating Hours Chart
- Wrest Point Casino Opening Times
- Wrest Point Casino Operating Hours Today
- Wrest Point Casino Hobart Opening Hours
| Wrest Point Hotel Casino | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Coordinates | 42°54′7″S147°20′17″E / 42.90194°S 147.33806°ECoordinates: 42°54′7″S147°20′17″E / 42.90194°S 147.33806°E |
| Opening | 10 February 1973 |
| Management | Federal Hotels |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 17 |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 269 |
| Number of restaurants | 5 + 6 bars |
| Website | |
| Official Site | |
Wrest Point is a stunning resort with a history that goes back to 1808, with the casino opening its doors on February 10th 1973, making it the first casino, or certainly the first legal casino, in Australia.
The Wrest Point Hotel Casino was Australia's first legal casino, opening in the suburb of Sandy Bay in Hobart, Tasmania, on 10 February 1973.
Granting of the casino licence[edit]
The Wrest Point Riviera Hotel, designed by architect Keith Wildman and built by Arthur Drysdale and opened on 5 December 1939, was originally constructed on the site of the current Wrest Point Casino.[1] During World War II the hotel was 'booming' and the hotel was sold to Australia's oldest hotel group, Federal Hotels, in March 1956.
In the 1960s, The Federal Group attempted to secure Australia's first casino license. At the time, Tasmania's natural scenery and beauty were not widely known elsewhere, and as a result the state wasn't attracting many tourists. The marketing claim was that a casino could be the draw-card that would kick-start Tasmania's tourism industry.
John Haddad, one of the company's executives at the time, was assigned the role of getting a casino license. He met with then Tasmanian PremierEric Reece and other state officials.
A state referendum was held to determine the granting of a gambling licence. The polls were very tight, especially since the question in the referendum attempted to minimise the gambling aspect of the development.
Shortly before the referendum was to be held, the Labor party, sensing they had the numbers in the parliament pushed through the legislation to legalise the casino. They did not wait for the results of the vote. When the vote was taken the hotel redevelopment was narrowly passed. Questions have since been raised about how the legislation was passed, with one member of parliament, Kevin Lyons, suspected of accepting bribes over the licence.[2]
Wrest Point Casino
Development[edit]
The development of the casino included the construction of the 17-storey hotel tower, with a revolving restaurant, designed by Sir Roy Grounds, a landmark that is nationally identified with Hobart, and the 64-metre dodecagonal prism tower remains the city's tallest building.
After the centre's opening in 1973 (after which it was known as Wrest Point Hotel Casino) the casino provided a catalyst for the nation's casino industry, with 12 additional casinos opening across the country. This included a second Federal Group casino in Tasmania, the Country Club Casino, which opened in Launceston in 1982.
The building has been extended in recent years, including the conference centre which was opened in 1984, and the boardwalk in 1996. In 2015 a 70 million dollar investment was announced, bringing five new dining outlets and more bars, a private VIP gaming room and a complete new contemporary feel across the entire casino.[citation needed]
Controversy[edit]
While initially the hotel was supposed to be an entertainment complex, the casino soon took over much of the hotel; and, while the poker machines were initially not permitted, by executing successful lobbying,[1] they now come to dominate the complex, with over 650 machines.[3]
The owners of the hotel and the poker machines, Federal Hotels, were fined on a number of occasions for poker machines that were not functioning as programmed, and were thus in breach of the law.[4]
In 2017, the building was protected with a heritage listing.[1] While some saw this as significant, the decision 'angered local residents and puzzled some experts.'[5]
2018 Tasmanian election[edit]
In the 2018 election, the opposition leader, Rebecca White, promised to remove all pokies from pubs and clubs, leaving the two casinos as the only location for pokies in the state, citing the negative health and economic impacts of poker machines.[6] The Federal Group, who own both the casinos and the pokies licences have opposed the policy as have the Liberal government.[7]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abc'Hobart's giant 'hair roller' honoured with heritage listing'. ABC News. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^patrickw@themonthly.com.au (1 March 2017). 'Tasmania got gamed'. The Monthly. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^'Best pokies venues in Tasmania'. Online Casino Sites. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^'Wrest Point Casino fined for allowing faulty poker machine to be played'. ABC News. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^'Questions raised about heritage listing of Hobart's Wrest Point Casino'. Commercial Property & Real Estate News. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^'Pokies out of Tasmanian pubs, clubs by 2023 under Labor promise'. ABC News. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^Koziol, Michael (13 December 2017). 'Tasmania could become first state to blow up the pokies under Labor plan'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
Wrest Point Hotel
External links[edit]
- Wrest Point Hotel Casino official site
Fri, Apr 12, 9:15pm by Ethan Anderson
Last Updated Tue, Oct 8, 12:37am
Wrest Point Hotel Casino in Tasmania is one of two large gambling halls on the main island of the state of Tasmania. The Wrest Point property is built on Sandy Bay in the capital city of Hobart. The casino section of the complex has the distinction of being the first legal casino in all of Australia.
The casino at Wrest Point Hotel in Tasmania opened for gamblers in February of 1973 after a decade of attempts by the hotel’s ownership to secure a gaming license. Tasmania was virtually unknown to tourists in the 1960s; the owners of Wrest Point Riviera (the original hotel where the casino complex now stands) wanted to build a casino to increase tourism to the island. After a referendum legalizing casino gambling passed, a new seventeen storey hotel was built. That tower structure is still a part of the complex today and is still the tallest building in Hobart.
The referendum’s success and the casino’s construction were responsible for the development of the casino industry throughout Australia. Tourism to Tasmania did in fact increase, and tourist dollars are now a major part of the territory’s economy.
Wrest Point Casino Details
Hobart, where most of the island’s 500,000 people live, is the main point of entry for visitors to the island. Wrest Point Casino is part of the larger Wrest Point luxury resort facility, including the hotel, a boardwalk that allows guests to walk along the River Derwent, and the usual line-up of restaurants and bars associate with large casino properties.
Wrest Point Casino Accommodation
The gambling section of the casino complex itself is around 20,000 square feet in size. The casino’s variety of table games and electronic gaming machines makes Wrest Point the largest and most popular gambling site in Tasmania.
Wrest Point Casino Operating Hours Chart
Games Offered
Fans of blackjack and craps have a selection of twenty-three table games available during the casino’s open hours. Each table game offered accepts wagers as little as AUD $5.00, with maximum bet sizes varying based on the game. The casino also has a special VIP section where table games, pokies, and other traditional casino contests allow larger wagers in a private non-smoking lounge.
Table games available vary from day to day, but can include baccarat as well as mini-baccarat, blackjack in three different rule variations, money wheel, roulette in both American and European formats, Sic Bo, two casino table poker games (slots!Texas Hold’em and Caribbean Stud), a unique version of blackjack called Federal Pontoon, and a number of Rapid Roulette portals.
The casino’s electronic machine games include pokies accepting bets ranging from AUD$ 0.01 up to AUD$1 per spin. Big spenders have access to pokies that take larger wagers in the VIP section. Wrest Point hosts one of the larger collections of electronic machines in Australia – around 650 games including multiple versions of video poker and progressives, including progressive pokies and machine skill games.
Head-to-head poker games are held at Wrest Point Casino every Wednesday through Saturday night. The number of ring games open depends on the number of reservations – players who want to join poker games (the only game played is Texas Hold ‘Em) have to call or visit the Cash Desk to secure a seat. The casino’s website indicates that most poker nights are limited to a single table of up to ten people, though during the busy winter season a larger section of the gambling floor is dedicated to the game.
Wrest Point Casino Opening Times
Casino Hours, Age Restriction, and Dress Code
All guests entering the casino must be 18 years old or older, though the attached hotel property and other amenities do not have an age restriction.
The casino’s hours are dictated by Tasmanian gambling law, part of which states that all casinos operating on the island have to close for at least four hours per twenty-four hour day. Following that regulation, Wrest Point Casino opens at 9 AM and closes at 3 AM every day but Saturday. That day, the casino extends its closing time to 4 AM.
Wrest Point Casino Operating Hours Today
As for the dress code, the gambling floor of Wrest Point Hotel Casino requires only “neat and clean casual attire,” while some of the restaurants and bars attached to the complex have their own specific requirements. Before you visit any part of the Wrest Point property outside the casino, check with management or on the website for details on what sort of dress is required.
More on the Wrest Point Hotel
The hotel contains 291 guest rooms, four restaurants, and two bars. The casino floor has its own bar serving food during gambling hours. Attached to the hotel is a convention and meeting space with a modular set-up that can be arranged depending on the needs of the guests.
Other on-site amenities: a marina and guides available for fishing trips, spa, two swimming pools, sports facilities (mini-golf, tennis, racquetball, and basketball facilities), and the boardwalk which gives guests easy access to the shore.
The Wrest Point Entertainment Centre, made up of two different theatre facilities, hosts live comedy, music, and theatrical performances. Both Plenary Room and the Tasman Hall seat hundreds of guests and have events scheduled a month or two in advance. Hotel guests can enjoy some events for free – check the schedule at Wrest Point’s website for more details.
Guests of the hotel can take a complimentary shuttle from the airport, which is fifteen kilometres away by major roads. Visitors to the casino not staying at the hotel are not able to use the free shuttle, but can park at the site for free or pay for valet service.
Wrest Point Casino Hobart Opening Hours
See also: Country Club Casino