Think of a casino and there is a good chance that you’ll think of a James Bond film or some other representation of a gambling house that you’ve seen on screen. Everyone there will be wearing glamorous outfits, with the men dressed in tuxedos and the women wearing long, figure-hugging dresses. Whilst you will still find some variations on that theme depending on the casino that you go to, it would be a lie to suggest that films represent reality all that closely in terms of the clothes worn at real-life casinos.
That shouldn’t be all that much of a surprise. After all, most British secret service agents don’t jump off cliffs with no parachute, climb into a plane and then successfully fly off into the distance. In other words, movies aren’t usually very reflective of real life, so why should that be any truer when it comes to clothing selections for casino visitors? There are, in essence, two different options for clothes in casinos: the glamorous and the typical. As you might imagine, they are at different ends of the spectrum, as we’ll explain.
What You Are Required to Wear
The first thing to realise is that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to clothes in a casino. That is to say, each venue will ask you to meet certain criteria in order to enter, but what that critieria is will be different from one casino to the next. Even so, there are certainly some expectations that you’ll have to meet in order to get onto the gaming floor. If you are heading to a specific casino then it is worth checking with them what their own House rules are before you go, so you stand a better chance of getting in.
Avoid Sportswear
As a rule of thumb, flip-flops are not often welcome in casinos, whilst trainers will be discouraged for most people. The likes of dirty clothing will be looked down upon, as will clothes have have been ripped or torn. It is common for casinos to ask punters not to wear sports tops, such as football jerseys. For most casinos, there will be a more relaxed approach to clothing during the daytime than at night, to say nothing of the fact that seasons can also have an influence on what will be allowed to slide and what won’t.
Seasons May Play a Factor for Some
In the summer, for example, most casinos will be more understanding of a bettor that chooses to wear shorts and a t-shirt than they will be in the winter months. If there is an unseasonable heatwave, it would be unreasonable for most casinos to ask their customers to be dressed up in jumpers and jeans. That being said, some casinos, such as the Monte Casino Carlo and the Venetian Macau, won’t allow shorts or flip-flops at any time. At the Venetian in particular, there is an expectation that more formal footwear will always be worn, which means no trainers at any point.
What People Tend to Wear
As you might imagine, what people actually tend to wear at the casino can differ wildly. We are assuming here that there isn’t a specific dress code in place, so it is not as though the casino is running an event in which black tie is required. Instead, we’ll think of a typical Saturday night out at the casino. Whilst it might be ‘typical’, that doesn’t mean that people don’t make a bit of an effort. For a lot of people, this will be a special night out, or else they will be heading to the casino after enjoying a nice night out somewhere else.
Smart Casual
For this reason, it is common to see the majority of punters wearing what you might call ‘smart casual’. In other words, the men will be wearing smart jeans or trousers alongside shirts and maybe dress jumpers if it’s winter. For women, the standard choice will be to wear dresses or skirts and smart shirts. Decent shoes will be worn by whatever sex, meaning that trainers and the like tend to be avoided most of the time. That doesn’t mean that they’re never worn, though, so if you’ve only got trainers then don’t panic too much.
Money Talks
The one thing to think about when it comes to casinos is that money talks. Whilst there are obviously some limitations, if a high-roller wants to wear something specific when they head onto the gaming floor then there’s a very real chance that they’ll be allowed to. Of course, if you are not a high-roller then you’d do well to dress up as smartly as you’re able to if you want to be taken seriously. If you don’t appear to be rich then no one in the casino is going to treat you with all that much respect, whether that is fair or otherwise.
If, however, you are able to splash the cash then the likehood is that the casino will provide you with your own account manager. You can discuss with them what clothes you would, or wouldn’t, like to wear and they will let you know what will or won’t be acceptable. The reality is that if you’re planning on betting tens of thousands of pounds per hand, there’s a very good chance that you’ll be given much more flexibility in your choices than someone that is only going to be betting the table minimum regardless of the game that they play.
Consider the Specific Casino
The final consideration that you’ll want to make is what the casino is that you’re planning on attending. The rule of thumb is that the ‘richer’ the casino is, the smarter you’ll be expected to dress. If you want to play in one of the private rooms then the chances are that you’ll need to be even smarter in your dress code. One of the perfect places to think of when it comes to dress codes for casinos is the Las Vegas strip, where every type of casino imaginable can be found; with every type of customer within them.
Ultimately, Vegas is a tourist hot-spot, so the clientele off the strip is different to almost anywhere else in the world. Even so, there are still differing levels of dress code depending on the casino that you’re hoping to visit. The casinos on Fremont Street, for example, will always be significantly more relaxed in their approach than the gaming floors of the likes of the Bellagio. If you can figure out how expensive the casino is, you’ll have a more solid idea of what sort of dress code will be deemed to be acceptable.