Ritz Club Casino, London, £1 – Vintage Casino Chip
Very hard to find.
In terms of casinos that are so well-known as to become almost a household name, few can get close to the Ritz Club. Though it only opened its doors in London in 1998, the casino hosted famous names such as Bill Clinton, Johnny Depp and Al Pacino as it became one of the hottest places to be seen. It closed its doors for the final time in March 2020, bidding goodbye to some infamous stories.
Part of the Ritz Hotel, which is considered to be world-famous, it was owned by Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay. An associate of theirs, former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin-Jaber al-Thani, was close to buying it from them, but the casino licence was sold to Hard Rock International, meaning that the casino at the hotel was no more. Given it hadn’t turned a net win since 2016, perhaps its closure is not all that surprising.
The space in which the Ritz Club’s casino operated had hosted a casino since the turn of the 20th century, though during the Second World War it was used as a nightclub called La Popote. The interior back then reflected a combat dugout, up to and including sandbags being strewn about the place. It came under the ownership of the Ritz Hotel in 1988, with the old casino returning ten years later.
Upon becoming the Ritz Club, a race at Royal Ascot became the Ritz Club Trophy Stakes. As a result, the Queen Mother would present the Waterford Crystal Trophy to the winner of the race. It soon earned a name for itself as the place to be seen in London for the rich and famous, with Dame Shirley Bassey choosing to launch her first album in 20 years, The Performance, from the venue in 2009.
