Southampton Casino Player Wins £31k Jackpot On £1 Poker Side Bet
One lucky punter at Grosvenor Casino in Southampton walked away from a night out £31,000 better off after winning a £1 side bet with a casino poker opening straight flush.
The fortunate gamer was playing Ultimate Texas Hold’em while on a night out with three friends.
In one hand, he placed a £1 side bet before turning a straight flush of three to seven of spades.
Straight Flush Jackpot
As well as winning the hand, the player, who chose to remain anonymous but was described by the casino manager as a regular player, also picked up the progressive jackpot.
After the win, he said: “I couldn’t quite believe it when the dealer confirmed the jackpot.
“My friends were cheering, and it all happened so fast. It’s not every day you see a straight flush like that!
“I don’t have any big plans for the money yet, I’m just going to save it for now, but I did take my mates out for a nice meal to celebrate.”
Ultimate Texas Hold’em is a variant of the card game played at physical and online casinos.
Rather than going head-to-head against other people, players take on the dealer. The player places an Ante and Blind bet and can bet more when turning cards.
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The game typically also offers side bets.
Generally, a straight flush pays out at 50x the side bet, but some casinos offer progressive jackpots for landing powerful hands like straight flushes and royal flushes.
The casino’s manager Conor Toner said of the win: “It’s always fantastic to see one of our regular players hit a jackpot, and this win created such a great buzz throughout the casino.
“It’s an exciting time for us here at Grosvenor Casino Southampton as we modernise the casino floor and increase our slots offerings.”
Grosvenor Casinos was founded in 1970 in Maidenhead. The casino chain, which now includes more than 50 physical venues across the UK, is part of the Rank Group and is now considered the largest casino chain in the country.
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Grosvenor Helps Rank Group Revenue Figures
Despite ongoing uncertainty surrounding the UK gambling sector, specifically the likelihood of Chancellor Rachel Reeves initiating a substantial increase in gambling duties, Rank Group has enjoyed a positive start to the year.
At the beginning of October, the group, which also owns Mecca Bingo, reported £210.2million of revenue for the three months ending 30 September – a 9% annual increase.
As part of the results, Grosvenor Casinos reported an 8% increase in total revenue. Revenue from digital gaming was up 13%, while revenue outside the capital rose 10%.
The newly refurbished Victoria Casino in Edgware Road helped revenue in the company’s London casinos post 4% gains.
The chain’s casinos have added 471 new slots across venues since the end of August and the Southampton casino is in the process of adding more machines to potentially help further boost revenues.
Chief Executive John O’Reilly said the company is set to meet group profit forecasts for the full year and, referencing Reeves’ recent comments that gambling companies must pay their fair share of tax, he stated: “Last year the group generated £44.6m in profit after tax, having paid HMRC and local authorities £188m in taxes.
"The Rank Group, with its strong UK focus, is certainly paying its fair share."
