The Casino is inside the lodge, not down the road. From the front door you cross the lounge, past the fireplace and the bookshelves, then take the short corridor to the left of the breakfast room. It is all on the ground floor, so there are no stairs from the lounge and none from the car park. The room is long rather than wide, with the bar and the windows on the lake side and the machines opposite. Most guests find it by accident on their first night, coming back in from dinner in town. Late on, once the last table breaks up, you can hear the lake through the glass.
Twenty slot machines run along the inland wall — pokies, if you grew up here. They are standard New Zealand machines with note acceptors and ticket printers, taking from NZ$0.01 to NZ$2.00 a line, and the denomination with the minimum and maximum bets is printed on the glass of each one. Tickets are cashed at the counter by the door. Staff will show you how the buttons work if you have never played a machine before; we would rather explain a bonus round twice than watch you put money into something you do not understand. The machines are loud when they pay and the rest of the room is quiet, so you hear every win from the bar.
The table games sit in the middle of the floor under low pendant lamps. Two blackjack tables open with the room, with a minimum of NZ$5 a hand. The roulette wheel is single zero, also from NZ$5. Poker is Texas hold'em, dealt as a cash game from Thursday to Sunday, and the table fills up late. House rules for every game are printed on a card at the table. Dealers will talk you through a hand between rounds if you ask. If the poker table is dark and two of you want it, ask at the bar and we will find out whether a dealer is free.
The bar is on the lake side, eight stools and a shelf along the window for people who would rather sit and watch than play. The list is short and mostly local: Central Otago pinot noir and riesling, beer from Wanaka and Cromwell, a dozen spirits, coffee, and a jug of water that costs nothing. It is the same list as the lodge lounge and it stays open until the floor closes. Live music is on Friday and Saturday evenings from 8pm, usually a guitarist and a singer on the small stage beside the bar, played at a volume you can talk over.
The Casino is open from 6pm to 2am, seven days a week. Dress code is smart casual: a collar or a tidy jumper, closed shoes, and no wet hiking gear, hi-vis or ski gear straight off the mountain. Hats are fine. Entry is free, for the guests in our four suites and for visitors who have driven out from Queenstown, with no cover charge, no membership and no guest list. Ben Lomond Stay is at 28 Evergreen Place, Sunshine Bay, a five minute drive from central Queenstown. Parking is on the gravel at the front of the lodge, and the bus stop is a short walk away.
Entry is restricted to persons aged 20 and over. Photo ID is checked at the door on every visit, not only your first. A New Zealand driver licence, a Kiwi Access Card or a passport will do; a photograph of one on your phone will not. Our staff check everyone, including people they recognise by name, because that is what the Gambling Act 2003 requires of us. Queenstown is one of the small number of New Zealand cities licensed to operate a casino, and that licence comes with conditions. All gaming takes place here on the floor, on-site only. We offer no online gaming: there is no app, no live dealer stream, and nothing anywhere on this website that takes a wager.
Host Responsibility is a legal obligation in New Zealand and we treat it as one. Our casino staff are trained to recognise the signs of problem gambling — very long unbroken sessions, chasing losses, playing with money that was meant for something else — and to raise it quietly with the guest. Ask for a break and you will get one: we will hold your seat while you have a drink or step outside for the air. Self-exclusion is available on request, arranged by the duty manager in the office, usually inside ten minutes, for a period you choose. There are no ATMs on the gaming floor. We do not cash personal cheques and we do not extend credit.
Clocks are visible from every table, alcohol is not served to anyone intoxicated, and our written Host Responsibility policy sits at the counter to be read. Gambling costs money, and it is worth deciding what you are prepared to lose before you sit down. If gambling is causing problems for you, or for someone in your family, the Gambling Helpline is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on 0800 654 655. There is information, self-assessment and support for families at choicenotchance.org.nz. Our staff can make the call with you from the office if that is easier. Nobody at the door or on the floor will ask why you have stopped coming in.