by Anton Johan
Casinos in the capital are being impacted by a lucky streak being enjoyed by highrollers - those gamblers who can afford to wager huge sums of money at one time.
When highrollers are on a losing streak, casinos stand to make juicy profits in a short space of time.
However, in recent months, a number of London casinos have directly blamed a run of good luck by highrollers on their financial woes.
One casino lost £12 million to a sheikh in the space of a couple of hours.
The Aspers Group, which runs the Mayfair Club and three new casinos in Newcastle, Swansea and Northampton, reported a substantial loss in revenue last year.
In July, Damian Aspinall, son of the late John Aspinall, blamed the losses on highroller wins at some of the big tables at casinos.
The Aspinall's Club reportedly lost £4.5 million last year, with revenues down £20 million.
The group has also breached its loan agreements with the Royal Bank of Scotland, with debts climbing to £55 million.
A report issued by the Aspinall's directors said: "All high end casinos experience periods of volatility in their hold percentage, due to runs of bad luck."
With costs rising across all spectrums (staff salaries, gaming duties and rent), the lucky streak experienced by highrollers "had a direct effect on the profitability of the business," said the directors in their report.
Today's highrollers are a far cry from yesteryears dukes, earls and cabinet ministers. They tend to be Chinese, Russian, Arab or Asian billionaires who don't bat an eyelid if their losses mount up.
"Anyone in the business with high value VIP tables will have years when you do well and years when they don't do well because it is volatile," said Damian Aspinall.
