Our position
The casino is one room in a hotel that also has a swimming bath, a piano bar and ninety-four beds. It earns its keep, but it is not the reason the building exists, and the house has no interest in a guest who leaves worse off than they arrived in any sense that matters.
So the floor team is trained to notice the moment an evening turns, and to step in rather than look away. A host who closes a table early, declines a buy-in or walks somebody to the bar for a coffee is doing exactly what we ask of them, and no manager will second-guess it.
Nothing on this website is gambling. There is no game to open, no stake to place and no payment to make. Everything described here happens inside a building, in front of people, with identification checked at the door.
Strictly adults only
- Entry to the Lantern Floor begins at 18, or at the higher age where local rules set one.
- Photo identification is checked at the door on every visit, including for regulars and for anyone who plainly looks well past the age.
- Accepted: a passport, a national identity card, a driving licence. Not accepted: a photocopy, a photograph on a phone, or a document that belongs to somebody else.
- Guests under 18 may stay in the hotel, eat in any of our rooms, swim during family hours and come to the Sunday film. The casino threshold is closed to them at every hour, including in the company of a parent.
- Where a document is missing, borrowed or unclear, the door team refuses entry and does not negotiate about it.
What you can ask a host for
- A time limit. Say how long you mean to stay. A host notes it and finds you when that time is up, wherever you have got to on the floor.
- A spending ceiling. Decide on a figure before the first chip is bought. The cashier will not sell you chips past it for the rest of the night, however the night is going.
- A cooling-off period. Ask to be turned away at the door for a week, a month or a season, and the door team will do it without comment.
- Self-exclusion. A written agreement for a fixed term, kept confidentially at the host desk. We do not shorten one on request, and we have been asked persuasively.
Credit is never extended at the Montrose Grand. There is no cash machine on the casino floor or in the corridor outside it, no tab can be run against the casino, and chips are not advanced against a room bill.
Signs worth naming out loud
- Staying past the time you set yourself, or buying in again after you said you would not.
- Playing to get back what the last hour took, rather than for the hour itself.
- Using money that was meant for rent, bills, food or someone else.
- Borrowing, selling something, or keeping the amount quiet when asked.
- Feeling irritable or low away from the table, and better only once you are back at it.
- Choosing the floor over sleep, over work, or over the person you arrived with.
If more than one of those reads like a description of you, say so to any host, or write to the address at the foot of this page. Nothing said to our staff is written into a guest record, mentioned at reception, or raised again unless you raise it.
Independent help
These three organisations are free, confidential and have nothing to do with the Montrose Grand.
- Gambling Therapy — online support groups, moderated forums and live chat, in a number of languages: gamblingtherapy.org
- Gamblers Anonymous — peer meetings held in most countries, in person and online: gamblersanonymous.org
- Gam-Anon — for partners, parents, children and friends of someone who gambles: gam-anon.org
Reception also keeps the number of the nearest local helpline on a card at the desk. Ask for it and you will be handed one, without a question and without a raised eyebrow.
Staff and training
Nobody works a shift on the Lantern Floor until they have been through the house briefing on age checks, on self-exclusion and on how to approach a guest who is having a bad night. The briefing is repeated every six months and after any incident worth reviewing. Door staff are trained to refuse politely, repeat themselves once and then stop talking.
Talk to us first
Anything you would rather have in place before you walk in can be settled by email: send it to [email protected] with the casino manager named in the subject line. A limit, an exclusion or a quiet word with a host can all be arranged in advance, and the request goes no further than the casino office.