It’s a little-known fact that when a day’s gambling in a British casino ends, the playing cards at each table must be counted, ordered by number and suit, and, to comply with gaming regulations, shredded.
The Hippodrome Casino in London, the biggest in Britain, goes through 30,000 packs a year. (They are recycled.)
It is 7am on a Saturday and I’m watching a croupier count his cards and lock up the chips, but in this 24-hour pleasure palace, a couple of tables remain open. It is mainly shift workers: players here all night have already been gently, then less gently, encouraged to leave.
