Gaelic Green and Gaelic Grey
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Emporium had opened in October 2005. It represented a €5.5 million ($8 million
US) investment of billionaire Dermot Desmond, reputedly the third richest man
in Ireland. Desmond is well-plugged in to high government circles. When the
facility opened, invited guests included movie personalities as well as Miss
World.12 It may be suggested that the facility was build with the idea that it
would be permanent. Two upper floors feature thirty tables—six roulette, eight
for blackjack, one each for punto banco and pai gow, and fourteen for poker.
There are 112 employees.
The casino is open from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. Poker tournaments are ongoing.
There are no slot machines, nor will there be if the casino expands with
legalization. Slots appeal to a market that the Sporting Emporium does not seek.
Players must join the club: 33,702 have done so. The club receives about 150
players each week night and 400 each night on weekends. The players are
screened for identification purposes, and they must register their identity and
submit to a biometric fingerprint scan each time they enter to the casino area.
Security cameras are linked directly into the local police department—quite a
bold move for a casino without legal standing.13 The Sporting Emporium does
advertise in some major media, but for now they are happy just to be on a side
street outside of general public view while they wait for changes in national
legislation.14
While the Sporting Emporium and other upmarket casinos do not want to
have slot machines, several casinos consist almost totally of slots. One is
Amusement City on Westmorland Street, a block north of Trinity College. The
casino has a large upstairs room with over 100 slot machines. Prizes exceed
€1,000. A back downstairs room has five table games. Most of the dealers and
players were of Asian background. Since the economic boom of the 1990s
began, over 80,000 new Asians have immigrated to Ireland.15 They are also
players at Eden’s Quay on the street of that name beside the Liffey River a block
from O’Connell Street, the major street of north Dublin. The casino has an
upstairs room with machines that is open in the daytime and evenings, and a
lower room with tables that is open only in the evening.
The most interesting slot machine palace is Dr. Quirkey’s Goodtimes
Emporium. It is located on O’C