Photo by Beatrice Murch

Put your money where your mouth is. It’s the ace of spades. Baby I’ve got your money. Diamonds are forever.

The odd suave suit, sweet jazz music, high stakes and intriguing spins of the wheel are what await you at Puerto Madero Casino. That’s if you know how to get there.

According to your Guia T it seems to be ubicado in a very accessible place. You take a walk down to Puerto Madero and just follow the docks along. An old wives’ tale claims that casinos are illegal in the city of Buenos Aires, hence why it is actually floating on a tributary of the Río de La Plata. However, actually finding the way there would certainly put some punters off.

After a good trek along the waterside on a cold autumn’s night, my freezing companions and I finally saw a few flashing neon lights; the glitzy glow of tonight’s entertainment hall we thought. Think again. There are two sets of beaming lights, some came from a mysterious building we did not manage to identify and have not seen since on further visits.

Taking the long route does guide you through a rather pretty little park. A few statues and tidy shrubs made me think about returning for a picnic one day.

Emerging from between trees I eventually prove to my friends that I really am an expert at using the Guia T. The car park is illuminated by lights in the form of playing cards, guiding us a few hundred metres towards the front doors.

I later learned that a free bus leaves from Córdoba and Leandro N. Alem every 15 minutes between 2pm and 2am. Take advantage of this service!

On nearing the entrance the clients appear to be as poorly dressed as I am. Not many sharp tuxedos and ball gowns I’m afraid. On the contrary all I saw were a few flat caps and woolly jumpers. The majority of the punters are on the mature side of fifty. I was happy to discover that there is no dress code involved.

You have to pass through metal detectors at security and if you are carrying a camera it will be confiscated. You leave it reception and collect it later. As always I was full-body-searched, but boarded unscathed. 

Photo by Beatrice Murch

There are four floors to the casino which house over 700 slot machines and 140 gaming tables. On the bottom two there are slots and electronic roulette. You have to insert a minimum of $10 to play, though you can spin for as little as 25 centavos and bet on roulette from $2 on numbers and $10 on 50/50 shots.

On the third it is all table play, with poker, roulette and blackjack on offer. On this floor you play with chips, although you can change them at the cashier desks or on the table. Minimum bets for roulette are $10 on numbers, and $100 on red/black or any low probability equivalent. For blackjack the rules are similar. Some tables allow you to play with as little as $10, but again, there are more expensive tables.

Up top is where the real city-slickers lay their bets. Only dollars are accepted, and minimum entry to the roulette table is US$20. To play poker you need to thrown down US$1000, no more, no less. They play hold’em but with their own twist to the rules. There are no blinds, but each player pays an ante of US$25 per hand. Betting therefore becomes very aggressive. You’ll be lucky to see the flop without paying heavily.

Craps and point and blank are also available on the third floor.

There are bars aplenty and one restaurant. A decent meal will cost you $45, and a snack such as a sandwich or a salad is $25. Drinks are reasonably priced. I bought a half pint of Martini for $10. A coffee is $6 and a soft drink $8. If you’ve been lucky, splash $25 on a cocktail from the wide range on offer. You are free to roam with your beverages and sip at your liquor whilst observing the rich burn holes in their pockets.

Despite being on a boat, you don’t feel like it. Arriving is difficult. Take the free bus or get a taxi. The clientele isn’t exactly in the James Bond mould, but it’s the winning which counts!

The casino is open 24 hours a day and everyone is welcome. It is at Darsena Sur on Avenida A.M. de Justo, across the water from Dique 1.