Casino
The Rimu Room
One room off the corridor beyond the bar, lined in the rimu the hotel is named for. 34 machines, 6 tables, open midday to 3am, seven days.
What the room is
It is a gaming room inside a hotel, not a gaming floor with a hotel attached. It runs to about 240 m² on the ground floor, holds 34 machines and 6 tables, and on a Tuesday in June there might be nine people in it. On the Friday of Cup Week there is a queue at the door from about eight.
Everything played here is played here. There is no application, no account, no website version of this room, and no way to place a stake through this site. Gaming happens on these premises, under the Gambling Act 2003, and the Department of Internal Affairs is the regulator that oversees it.
The Rimu Room is restricted to guests and visitors aged 20 and over. Photo identification is checked at the door on every visit, under the Gambling Act 2003. Nothing on this website can be played or wagered online.
What is on the floor
Six tables and thirty-four machines, which is a small room by any measure and is meant to be. Dealers are dealt in from the roster, not brought in for the evening, and most of them have been here longer than the current manager.
| Blackjack | Three tables. NZ$10 minimum to 9pm, NZ$20 after. Six decks, dealer stands on soft 17. |
|---|---|
| Roulette | Two tables, single zero. NZ$5 minimum inside, NZ$10 outside. |
| Poker | One table, Texas hold’em, Thursday to Sunday from seven. Cash game, no tournament series. |
| Baccarat | Punto banco on the poker table Monday to Wednesday, from eight. |
| Gaming machines | 34 of them along two walls, denominations from 5c. Nothing is linked to a jackpot outside this building. |
| Live gaming | Every table game here is dealt by a person at the table. There are no electronic table terminals in the room. |
The Heartwood Table
One private table behind a door at the far end, seating seven. It is booked rather than walked into, from NZ$500 minimum buy-in, with its own dealer and its own service from the bar. Groups take it for an evening; individual guests take it when the main room is loud.
Booking it is a telephone call to the desk, or the enquiry form with The Heartwood Table chosen as the subject. The same rules apply in it as in the main room: 20 and over, identification checked, and no cash machine anywhere near it.
Practical things
| Hours | midday to 3am, seven days. The door shuts at three whoever is still inside, and the room is cleared by ten past. |
|---|---|
| Age | 20 and over. Photo identification every visit: a New Zealand driver licence, a passport, or an 18+ card. A hotel key card is not identification. |
| Dress | Tidy. No high-visibility workwear, no gang insignia, no bare feet. Riders straight off the hill are asked to change first, which most have already done. |
| Payment | Cash and EFTPOS at the cage. No credit is extended, ever, and there is no cash machine in the room or in the corridor outside it. |
| Photographs | Not in the room. It is the one house rule that gets enforced without discussion. |
| Entry | Free. There is no membership, no card, no points scheme and no loyalty tier. |
Host responsibility
The rules the room runs by
No cash machines in the room or the corridor. A clock readable from every table and every machine. A closing time that does not move. Staff trained under our host responsibility policy to notice the signs and to say something, and a manager on duty who is named on the board at the door.
Anyone can ask to be excluded from The Rimu Room. It is done in writing, kept confidential, and set for a term you choose between three months and two years. The staff at the door hold the list and it is checked at every shift.
We promote responsible gambling on our premises. Losing an evening’s takings costs this hotel less than losing a regular does.
- Gambling Helpline — 0800 654 655, free, 24 hours
- Need to Talk? — 1737, call or text
- Problem Gambling Foundation — 0800 664 262
- Text — 8006
- Online — choicenotchance.org.nz
Staying the night
The room is on the ground floor of a hotel with 58 beds above it. Guests who have had an evening in The Rimu Room are twenty metres from a lift rather than on Dyers Pass Road at midnight, and that is the sensible way to use this building.