GameMaster Rating: 89 points (of 100)

General Comments: This is the Internet casino of the William Hill Company which is one of the venerable British bookmakers. Their 'main' web site (www.williamhill.co.im) says: "The Most Respected Name in British Bookmaking" and for once, it's probably not hype. They opened for real-money gaming on January 12, 2000 and with the addition of version 4 of their software, have solved a lot of problems, improved a few games and generally raised their rating here. Since they've been open we have never heard from a player who felt he or she was treated unfairly at this casino. There have been some mixups on bonuses, etc. but that's very typical "back-office" stuff which can happen to even the best operations. With their backing by the William Hill Company, I personally have no doubts whatsoever about the integrity of this casino.

Recommendations: While version 4 clears up some nagging problems that I had with the software, there hasn't been a big change in the healthy edge this casino has in most of its games. A notable exception is their new Video Poker game, but it is an exception. However, their games aren't terrible, just "tight" and many are comparable to most of those out there on the 'Net. It would be nice to see some improvement in the payout on their other Video Poker games and the Keno, however.

Blackjack: Eight-deck shoe which is shuffled after every hand. Dealer stands on A-6, double on any first two cards, pairs may be split only once, double after split, one card only to split Aces, insurance is available. The cards are shuffled after every hand. Betting limits are $5-$300. The casino edge for this game is approximately 0.46% if the player uses proper basic strategy.

* The theoretical return is the long-term payback a player who is using the correct strategy may expect. The return is lower for 1-coin play because the Royal Flush pays less when fewer than 5 coins are played.

Video Poker comments: I still have a hard time dealing with how they established the paybacks for their machines. Have you ever seen a 9/6 Jacks game with a 100-coin pay on 4K and a 200-coin Straight Flush? Me neither. That wasn't done to trick people into thinking they were playing a full-pay Jacks game, was it? And calling the other machine "All American" is very misleading. There is no game by that name with a 450-coin Straight Flush; all the 'real' ones pay 1000. The Double Bonus game is a nice addition, even though there's a big, bright sticker on it that says: "Certified Over 100% Return". It isn't.

Slot Machines: Eight machines are available and all appear to be non-progressive and mostly in a single-line, three-reel format. Denominations are $.25, $1, $2, $5.

Video Slots: Three machines are available and the one I checked is in a five-reel, five-payline format with a secondary bonus screen. Very well done, but it's still a slot. Denominations are $.25, $1, $2, $5.

Roulette: This is a decent game, in that it's a double-zero wheel. but uses the 'partager' rule which means that you only lose half of any bet on the 'outside' (High, Low, Red, Black, Odd, Even). So, the house percentage is 2.63% on those bets, but 5.26% on all the others. Limits are $5-300.

Pai-Gow Poker: The casino is always the Banker in this game and the 'commission' on a winning bet is 5%, so when combined with the natural edge of the Banker, the net effect is a casino edge of about 3% against a skillful player. Limits are $5-300.

Keno: The average payout is about 75%. The 4-spot play has a pay schedule of 0 for 1 hit, 1 for 2, 4 for 3 and 115 for 4 which translates into a 73.78% return for long-term play. Limits are $.25 to $5.00 Craps: This is a standard game where 2X free odds are permitted. Limits are $5-300.

Let It Ride: The game here has a $1 bonus bet which pays extra if you get a hand of trips or more. Consider this: the odds of getting a Royal Flush is one in 650,000 and here that event pays a whopping 1000 to one. Forget this bet; the house edge is about 30%. The regular pay schedule is standard, so the casino's edge is 2.82%. Limits are $5-300.

Baccarat: The game appears to be a standard version, so the casino's edge is 1.06% on a Bank bet and 1.23% on a Player bet, but the Tie bet is listed as 9 FOR 1, instead of 8 to 1, which is what that really means. Limits are $5-300.

Break the Bank: This is a free game, so it's hard to complain about the odds. The trick is to pick a 9-digit "combination" and win $100,000 if you're correct. Assuming I understand just how this works, the odds of picking 9 of 9 numbers is 1 in 4,237,000,000.

Summary and Rating of William Hill Casino: The new software is a vast impovement over their old version and this casino has built a fine reputation for fairness in the short time it's been on the 'Net. In light of that and the fact that many of their games are at least average and one (the Double Bonus) is above average, I'm happy to give William Hill Casino a rating of 89 points.