Mayfair is easily the most prestigious district of London. The sheer level of wealth in the area attracts more high-earning individuals and luxury businesses, including the Omani real estate developers Sobha Realty. However, that doesn’t mean that simply having a world-class offering upon opening will sustain success in the area for years to come. Without moving with the times, businesses can quickly fall by the wayside.
Arguably, this could be said of the downfall of the once-prestigious Park Lane Club London, which experienced its fair share of troubles and fell into administration. Being in such a prime area of London and the building being rather modern, it didn’t take long for someone to leap at the opportunity to set up shop in Mayfair. This comes in the form of the Metropolitan Casino, which finally opened on 2 December 2022.
Metropolitan Gaming swoops into Mayfair
It’s not uncommon to see turnover in Mayfair, and even some of its most storied buildings have required the public to come to the rescue. This was the case with the historic cinema Curzon, the Grade II-listed venue that is operational today and is heading towards a 90-year association with Mayfair, having opened in 1934. So, there is a place for iconic buildings and businesses, but some are more susceptible to the tides of change and new demands.
Having opened in January 2014 at 22 Park Lane, the Park Lane Club sought to offer a luxurious and exclusive gaming experience through the lens of the Middle East. People could apply for an annual membership, but those who didn’t get accepted weren’t able to get into the casino. Leaning heavily on hospitality in all areas of the venue, the Park Lane Club was clearly positioned to appeal to the highest of earners in and around Mayfair.
In June 2022, though, Metropolitan Gaming completed the purchase via administrators to take on the site of Park Lane Club and give it their own spin. The first job on the list for the new owners was to refurbish the floors in their own image and then swing open the doors to the public. Initially, this sounded like the new owners taking on an incredibly luxurious and formerly exclusive venue to, more or less, open it to the general public.
A time of accessibility and luxury experiences
Since the 2014 opening of the Park Lane Club, the gambling industry has changed immensely. Even with Las Vegas long standing as the pinnacle of gambling cities with its open-door policy across The Strip, in Europe, the focus for the grandest venues was exclusivity. This is one of the contributors to the industry report UKGC which marks a 14.8 per cent decrease in the total number of premises from 2020 to 2021.
At the same time, remote gambling saw an 18.4 per cent increase. Being so accessible, online platforms benefit from being as open to the public as one can get. It’s in recent years, however, that the rise of table game variants and live casino games have blurred the lines between the in-house and online experience. At the online casino Betway operates, the new Roulette Mega Moolah, Live 9 Pots of Gold, and celebrity dealer table games offer luxury-quality studios and tables played in real-time with professional croupiers.
Being able to access such casino gaming options at one’s convenience has changed the bar for people who go to venues in person. These patrons, especially the high-earners snapping up the likes of the massive Gucci Mansion in Mayfair for £55 million, demand a luxury experience that goes beyond the material worth and to the core sensation of being in the venue.
Luxury and the benefits of the crowds
Casinos are at their best when there are plenty of people around, enjoying the tables, slots, and other offerings within the entertainment venue. Regardless of how exclusive you want a casino club to be, arriving only for it to be empty cuts away a huge segment of the entertainment value. The Metropolitan Casino at 14 Old Park Lane offers free membership to those who apply, is open to guests, and will work extended hours of 2pm to 6am.
Making the most of the sumptuous surroundings left by their predecessors, Metropolitan has further refined the luxury experience in the venue. Visitors will be able to play all of the classic casino games on the floor as well as electronic gaming machines, and relax on the heated terrace or enjoy a meal in the Art Deco-inspired restaurant, per the report from LDNFashion.
The Metropolitan Casino certainly doesn’t look to be any less luxurious than the former venue, but with its more open policy in the modern gambling world, it should prove to be more successful in Mayfair.
