Casino Profiles

Costa Rica - Casino Europa
By Jan Fisher

In another section of beautiful San Jose is Casino Europa, located in the Radisson Hotel complex. It is the largest casino in Costa Rica. The good news for poker players is that poker is a top priority of the owners and managers. This is a far cry from the manner in which many of their American counterparts view cardrooms. Here, a poker room is not at all considered a convenience, but rather an integral part of the bigger picture and a major player in their customer base. The beautifully decorated cardroom features a waterfall running the entire width of the back wall. Punctuated by tropical flowers and foliage, it is quite a stunning and relaxing backdrop for any player. Casino Europa boasts being the most luxurious cardroom in all of Central America.

A great cardroom staff has personally been selected and hand picked by Director General of Operations Nick Gullo. Jaime Alverez is the assistant director general and has worked with Nick in many different businesses going back more than 30 years. Terry Severin is the cardroom manager and Jim Bonnett is the shift supervisor. With a wealth of knowledge in gaming, it is no wonder that this management team knows how to make players happy.

The room has five tables and adds tables during their special tournaments. Last month, Casino Europa hosted a celebrity event and invited poker luminaries to host each of the five events. A similar tournament is planned for February.

The usual menu of games include $4-$8 hold'em/Omaha 8/B, $5-$10 hold'em, $10-$20 hold'em or holde'em/Omaha/8. Twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is a no-limit hold'em game with blinds of $5-$10 and a buy-in of $1,000. Rebuys are allowed for $500. Another plus in the cardroom is the $2 maximum rake. This will get even better during the month of December when a special promotion will lower this figure to $1! Freerolls, logowear giveaways, and other promotions will be the norm during December.

As often is the case in Costa Rican cardrooms, they operate on the "honor system" and a player buys his chips on credit (with the exception of the big game). Upon completion of his play, he settles up with the cashier. Amazing to most of us, this system not only works, but it works surprisingly well at Casino Europa. Kudos for a really great system of integrity and honor!

It has now been my pleasure to have visited San Jose twice in the past couple of months and as an avid poker player as well as nature lover, I am eager to return for many more visits. While there, I have taken many all day adventures and still there is much more for me to see and do. I anticipate that my future trips there will be just as exciting and fun. The only difference in those next visits? I will be seeing old friends!