Ballys Casino Colombo

Ballys located at No. 34, D.R. Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo-10 (Phone: +94 5556555) is the largest casino in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. The other two casinos under the same management - MGM Grand and Bellagio are comparatively way smaller and more crowded. Because of its super sized gaming hall, the atmosphere at Ballys is always very relaxed and very elegant. Seats at gaming tables are always available with the exception of weekends when even Ballys gets a little crowded. But the crowd at Ballys is nothing as compared to Bellagio where even walking through the rows of tables gets difficult sometimes. Another advantage of Ballys is that players can easily get casino membership which promises some generous rewards like lucky draws during weekends. Getting a new membership at Bellagio is next to impossible whereas MGM Grand is a little easier. Ballys is located in a not so busy area of Colombo. The road outside is mostly deserted at night. Thankfully, the visitors who play at the tables are entitles to free drop to their hotels by casino cabs. To their credit, Ballys claims to have the highest winning percentage in the world. For casino facilities and gaming info, read on...

Bally's Casino Colombo Sri Lanka

Gaming Guide

There are about 60 gaming tables offering Blackjack, Roulette, Three Card Poker, Five Card Poker (with server based jackpot), Mini Flush, Baccarat, etc. Minimum bet on most tables is 500 Lankan Rupees, which is close to 4 USD. There are high limit tables too. Jackpot bet on Five Card Poker is 200 Lankan Rupees offering a win of 2 Million Lankan Rupees for a Royal Flush. Blackjack bet can be surrendered at a 50% loss except when the dealer's up-card is an Ace. Doubling is allowed on any two cards in the hands of the player. Blackjack tables here are almost always full. Two side bets - pairs and a special jackpot bet on a 6-7-8 combination with the player add excitement to the already hugely popular Blackjack. In Roulette, if a game ends with a single zero, 50% of the bet is refunded to the players. No charge is levied on withdrawing money through credit cards. Currencies like USD and Indian Rupee are changed at the gaming tables at perhaps the best exchange rates in Colombo. All card shuffling is manual. No Shuffle Masters here. This has a down side though because frequent shuffling delays games like Blackjack. Food and drinks are served on the gaming tables free of charge.

Dining and Entertainment

Starting with the free glass of Champagne that is offered to the guests right after entering, all drinks, snacks and meals inside the casino are complementary. Drinks include all major scotch whiskey brands, Vodka, Rum, Beer and cocktails, soft drinks, juices, etc. etc. A good selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian snacks is offered along with your free drink. A free and excellent buffet dinner can be had up to late hours. There is no entry fee, so even if one is not gambling, nothing stops a visitor from enjoying all the free stuff.  Entertainment - mostly stage dance and music shows are held on weekends. Lucky draws for members who bet a minimum amount of money at designated table games get a chance to win one of the cash giveaways. The night I was there, they gave away 20 prizes of 50,000 Lankan Rupees each. I have been to casinos in Goa, Gangtok (Sikkim), and Macau in this region but nowhere the "Free" list was as large and as generous as in Colombo's Ballys-Bellagio-MGM trio. In short, one gets player friendly gaming rules, free drinks & food, free entertainment, excellent atmosphere, free hotel drop (even pickup from your hotel), no entry fee and very low minimum bets. Its value gaming at its best.  

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