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Gaming & Entertainment · 20+
Sixty-one gaming machines and eleven tables on the lower terrace of the resort — slots, blackjack, roulette, poker and baccarat, run by dealers who live in this town.
Overview
The casino occupies the lower terrace, one floor beneath the lobby, behind a single controlled entrance. It is deliberately small: 720 square metres, low ceilings clad in oak, table lighting rather than floodlight, and a bar in the corner that serves the room and nothing else. Guests describe it as a club rather than a casino floor, and that is the intention.
Entry is restricted to people aged 20 and over under the Gambling Act 2003. Everyone entering is asked for valid photo identification — a New Zealand driver licence, a Kiwi Access Card or a passport — regardless of apparent age. House guests use the same door as visitors; there is no separate residents' entrance.
Casino entertainment is part of a resort stay here, not the reason for it. The lounge closes at 3.00 while the rest of the hotel keeps running, and nothing about the gaming floor is visible from the lobby, the restaurant or the pool.
The Gaming Floor
Every one of our casino games is played in person, on site, in New Zealand dollars. Minimums are posted at every table and change with the session.
Table Games
Eight tables run across the evening: four blackjack, two roulette — one American, one single-zero — one baccarat and one rotating table that carries Caribbean stud or three-card poker depending on the night. Table minimums start at NZ$10 and rise after 21.00 on Friday and Saturday.
Slot Machines
Modern video slots sit along the north wall, classic three-reel machines in the alcove, and a small linked progressive bank by the bar. Denominations run from 1c to NZ$2. Every machine displays its return-to-player information on the glass, and machine play is capped by the same host responsibility rules as the tables.
Poker
Three dedicated poker tables run No-Limit Hold'em cash games from 19.00, Thursday through Sunday. A NZ$60 freezeout runs every Thursday at 19.30 and fills quickly in winter — the list opens at the cage at 18.00, or ask reception to put your name down when you check in.
Live Gaming
All table gaming here is live and dealt by hand — thirty-one dealers on the roster, most of them trained in-house. There are no automated table terminals in this room. Dealers change every forty minutes, and a duty manager is on the floor for the whole session.
VIP Gaming
Behind the poker room sits a private salon with two high-limit tables, its own bar and a terrace looking down the lake. The Escarpment Room takes up to fourteen guests and is booked by arrangement — for a high-limit session, a private blackjack table for a group, or simply a quieter room than the main floor.
High rollers and private groups are hosted by the gaming manager directly. Requests go through reservations at least 48 hours ahead; the same 20+ entry rules, identification checks and host responsibility obligations apply exactly as they do on the main floor.
Practical Information
Take the lobby stairs or lift down one level. The entrance is signed from the lobby and staffed from opening to close. Non-resident visitors use the Lake Esplanade street entrance, which opens at the same hours.
Free dealer tuition runs on Saturdays at 17.00 — half an hour on blackjack and roulette, no money on the table, no obligation. Ask at the cage or mention it when you book your stay.
The gaming floor is strictly adults only and minors cannot enter for any reason, including to collect an adult. Everything else in the resort — rooms, restaurant, pool, terrace — is open to families.
Host Responsibility
Cliffside Collection operates its gaming lounge under an approved host responsibility policy, as required by the Gambling Act 2003. Our duty managers are trained to recognise signs of harm and to act on them. Self-exclusion is available at any time, in confidence, and takes about ten minutes to arrange at reception.
Free and confidential support, 24 hours a day: NZ Gambling Helpline 0800 654 655 · Need to Talk? 1737. Read our full commitment.
The gaming lounge at Cliffside Collection is reserved for adults aged 20 and over, in line with New Zealand law.
Gambling Act 2003 · R20 · Play it safe — NZ Gambling Helpline 0800 654 655
Access to this website is restricted to visitors aged 20 and over.
If you need to speak with someone about gambling, the NZ Gambling Helpline is free and confidential on 0800 654 655, 24 hours a day.