Online Casino Review: Dr. Ho 888 Live Casino

Editor's Note: We post our reviews as soon as possible after their completion, but remember that casinos can change their software, games, odds and policies at any time.

We welcome comments from players, and we will also give the casinos an opportunity to comment on their reviews, after they are posted. See our Message Boards for these comments. Contact us at RGTreply@RGTonline.com.

If anyone out there still doubts the viability of the Internet casino industry, consider this: Dr. Stanley Ho, the owner of the Exclusive Gambling Franchise for Macau, an island located near Hong Kong, has dipped his very wealthy toe into the water, so to speak.

Dr. Ho has what basically amounts to a monopoly on bricks-and-mortar gaming in his country and he's 70 years old, so why would he mess with something like this? I honestly don't know why he's doing it, but Dr. Ho's entrance into Internet gaming has been done with a certain "style", to say the least.

This casino is located in what amounts to a broadcasting studio in Antigua (and not open to walk-in traffic), but through state-of-the-art technology you can see your cards being dealt or the roulette wheel spinning and the dice being tossed as you place your bets with real, live dealers.

It's not perfect, but it's fairly amazing, nonetheless. The future is today.

We feel that a few comments on the software supplier would help any online casino review. It is a good idea to know more about the company and its people peole who create, operate and license the gaming software you use to wager online.

Casino Reality is the supplier of live broadcast Casino software. This unique concept was conceived and created to provide players with a combination of the experience and excitement a land based casino provides and the convenience of the Internet. By offering a heightened level of player experience the Casino Reality software is set to revolutionize the entire online gaming industry.

The gaming is broadcast via a live (streaming) video link from actual casino tables operated by live croupiers. The player simply plays a game at the table of their choice in real-time with the croupier. The player can also chat to the croupier and other players via a real time chat room, and are also able to access customer service personnel at anytime during their visit.

Casino Reality is registered and operates from Gibraltar. The Casino Reality system does not require any downloads, CD's or complicated set up directives. Our unique technology enables users to access live broadcast video gaming using a broad range of connections.

The Games

Machine Games

Because the focus of this gaming site is live "play", they have focused on Table Games. Machine Games are not available.

Table Games

Blackjack

Coming Soon is what they said.

Roulette

A European-style, single-zero wheel is used and that cuts the casinos edge to 2.70% on all bets.

Table limits are $1-$500..

Comments: Several times I logged in only to find that no tables were in operation, but when I did play, it operated just fine. This is a very noisy game, so you probably won't get away with playing at work unless you turn your speakers off.

Bacarrat

The casino's Help section for this game states that 8 decks are used and they are shuffled when approximately 4 decks have been dealt. The standard rules are in effect and a 5% commission is charged on winning Banker bets. Ties pay 8 to 1.

The table limits are $2-$50 and $20-$1000.

Comments: How can you go wrong with dealers named Mandy and Bobo in bikini tops? I won very nicely at this game, so naturally I feel it's on the level. You are allowed only about 15 seconds (a timer is on-screen) to place your bet and that's not really long enough for those of us who like to scrutinize the pattern of play. They do have an indicator board that shows the result of the last 10 or 12 hands, but you need to make your mind up in a hurry. T

he casino uses very large cards so you can read them clearly, but there is also a "graphics board" type of arrangement that shows your bet size, credit balance, all the cards, who won, etc. so even if your video feed isn't all that good, you won't miss any of the action.

This was a lot of fun!

Big and Small

I was not able to play this game, but I assume it's a version of Sic-Bo, which is similar to Chuck-a-Luck, which has a huge house advantage.

Table limits are $2-$250.

Comments: This game is currently in "beta" mode, but I didn't get to try it out.

The Financial Transactions

The casino accepts Visa, MasterCard, Firepay, checks and bank wires. The minimum purchase is $20 and the maximum is $5000. Winnings are credited back to your credit card up to amount of original purchase and any balance is sent via bank draft (check), delivered by "overnight courier" (they don't state which) at no charge. That is exceptional service! I had a small problem with my initial purchase due to a security setting in my browser that was causing a lost connection, but we got it straightened out and everything proceeded smoothly after that.

The Good Points

Because Dr. Ho owns this casino, I have a lot of confidence that I'm playing a fair game and will get paid when I win. I'm constantly amazed by what can be done over the Internet and this casino is no exception. But it is, after all, gambling and I want value for my bets. I got that here and all the "whiz-bang" frills were just added extras that made winning even more enjoyable.

Like many Internet casinos, a history of your play is available with the click of a mouse. But the best part is that this casino is bringing back the fun in gambling. Let's face it, staring at a piece of software that is draining your bank account can get boring after a while and, although I'm sure I'd eventually get bored playing here too, I like to think that I'm not so jaded that I can't have fun. Plus, I was winning and that always makes for a better time.

The casino's Web site has a comprehensive Help section, which is good because the only Customer Service contact is via e-mail.

The Bad Points

I like what they're doing here, but as I said in my introduction, it's not perfect. From a technology point of view, this is a bit of overkill for the computers and phone lines available to most people. It's not so much "live" action as it is "stop and go" action, at least when you're watching the dealers.

I have a medium-capacity DSL connection and that is not fast enough to watch the play in real time. But, the viewing is optional and the grapics portion of your screen shows all the information you need, such as who won what, etc., so it's no worse than any other browser-based operation.

A lot of people don't have the same trust in Flash-based and Java-based software that they have in downloaded software, but that doesn't bother me at all. By their very nature, all tables are multi-player and I doubt that you'll be able to get a blackjack game on your own once they begin to offer that, so the games do progress more like those in a real casino than the games we've gotten used to on the 'Net.

The only contact for Customer Service is through e-mail and I did not see a toll-free phone number. But I'm splitting hairs here and I really want to congratulate the developers of this concept for taking the level of Internet gaming up a notch or two.

If you have comments about this review, we'd love to hear from you. We'll also be happy to post any reaction from the casino that is reviewed. Contact us at RGTreply@RGTonline.com