Golden Riviera Casino Review

Updated April 24 2006

Golden Riviera Casino is an eCogra certified, Microgaming powered casino that I'm sure you've seen or heard about somewhere along the line. Part of the Golden Star Network family of casinos including Rivernile Casino, Slots Royal and Miami Paradise casino, Golden Riviera Casino has been around for quite a while and is well known in the player circles because of their huge bonus offers and ongoing promotions.

Visit the Golden Riviera Casino homepage and you are met with well designed, visually rich site in opulent blue and gold hues. There is a great deal of information on the site and this does give it a somewhat cluttered feeling, but at least everything you'd ever need to know is right at your fingertips.

The one thing you can't miss on the site is the bonus on offer and I decided to check out all of the bonuses and promotional offerings available.

Welcome Bonus and Promotional Offering

The first thing that grabs your attention on the home and promotional pages of this site is the "200% Download bonus, or get up to $/€ 150 free" advertised for first time players. There are basically 4 new download bonuses to choose from, you can buy $/€25 and get $/€50 free; buy $/€75 and get $/€75 Free, buy $/€100 and get $/€100 free, buy $/€150 and get $/€150 free OR buy $/€1000 and get $/€350 free.

Also, if you're a first time player and would like to feel the waters first before depositing, Golden Riviera offers you the opportunity to receive a $/€10 no purchase bonus. All you have to do is download the software, register a valid credit card, send a mail requesting your bonus and it will be credited to your account within 24 hours.

Terms and conditions do apply, so please make sure you read these carefully. I have received a number of complaints in the past and feel that I must warn you - make sure that you are clear about the wagering requirements before accepting any of the bonuses or promotional offers. If you do not meet the wagering requirements at Golden Riviera Casino and lose your money, these requirements get carried over to your subsequent deposit. You are required by the casino to meet them before making any cashout whatsoever. That said however, once you have met the stipulated wagering requirements, there are no problems with cashouts.

In addition to the bonuses on offer, Golden Riviera also has a number of other promotions running including weekly slots tournaments run every Friday, Ladies Night's on Tuesdays (strictly for ladies) which require a $/€20 deposit to get $/€100 free (first time entries only) and finally there are also Neteller and alternative payment method bonuses of 12.5% if you elect to use these methods. Now, on to check out their loyalty program...

Loyalty

Golden Riviera's most valued players club is pretty much like most other Microgaming loyalty programs where membership entitles you to earn points for play, and the more you play, the more you earn. Points are scaled according to a system and free casino chips increase exponentially to the number of Loyalty points accumulated. The nice thing about this program is that membership is free and automatic upon Real play, so there are no hoops to jump through.

Once you've earned your loyalty points, you can redeem them for Free Loyalty bonuses and casino cash, which gives you more mileage on your play. Please just note that Blackjack does not count towards accumulating points (once again, please read the Terms and Conditions). And finally, it's time to get started and play at the casino!

Download and registration

Golden Riviera Casino offers player both Download and No Download versions of their casino. As with most casinos, the download version is way more elaborate and includes a larger variety of the No Download version, but does require that you have some space on your PC whereas the No download version allows for instant play.

Having played here a couple of times, I already have the software on my desktop, but if you don't it's really easy to download, just click the download button and once the file has downloaded, follow the prompts to install and then register an account. Once that is done you can play for fun or for Real. In my case I headed off to the cashier to make my deposit so I could get started.

Banking

As mentioned previously, Golden Riviera Casino uses Microgaming software which makes use of 128 bit encryption to ensure that all of your online transactions are safe and secure. This fact ensures peace of mind and only enhances the player experience.

Golden Riviera also offers a variety of deposit methods including Neteller, Click2Pay, Moneybookers, Instadebit, Citadel, PaySpark, ECO Card, Credit Card, Electronic Check and Wire Transfer. As usual I elected to deposit via Neteller and put in $100. This transaction was completed quickly and easily and I was ready to play!

Games Offering

Being a Microgaming casino, Golden Riviera offers over 150 casino games as well as 19 Progressive Jackpots, with new games being added on a monthly basis. So you'll be spoilt for choice and will find it hard to get bored.

I decided to try out the newer games on offer for a change and started off checking out the Gold Series table games, volume 3 includes a variety of Blackjack games and is definitely an exciting and welcome addition to the games portfolio. The games graphics and smooth play allow you to enjoy hours of fun and I was off to a good start winning $150. I decided to move on while I was having a lucky streak and moved on to the Roulette Tables which were equally as enjoyable but a lot more expensive, eating into my bankroll after each spin.

Next I moved on to the Video Poker machines that Golden Riviera had to offer and was quite overwhelmed at the sheer number of variations. I started off with Aces and Faces 10 hand, which moves pretty quickly and ended up being quite lucrative after the appalling streak I'd experienced at the Roulette Tables. Next I played Jacks or better and finished off with 100 hand Joker Poker which is just a little overkill for me but will definitely keep you busy!

With my bankroll looking healthy once again I headed off to the Progressive Slots (which I can never resist) and had a flutter on Treasure Nile, which is $4.50 per spin on maximum bet but well worth it as I won on 5 consecutive spins and even though I didn't win, playing this one was a blast.

This time around I steered clear of the classics like Thunderstruck and Tomb Raider that I usually play and gravitated towards the newer games on offer including Age of Discovery and Dolphin Tale video slots which were very entertaining, but somehow I'm a creature of habit and found myself looking at the games I'm used to again. I finally gave into the urge and played Thunderstruck after all (you just can't beat it!)

After a thoroughly enjoyable gaming experience I decided to cashout but not before browsing what else the casino has on offer. In addition to the games I've mentioned, Golden Riviera Casino also offers a variety of pokers, Craps and Baccarat as well as Sic Bo amongst all of their Slots, Video Pokers and other table games.

My cashout went smoothly and my money was back in my account in no time.

Customer Support

Customer support at Golden Riviera can be contacted via e-mail and toll free telephone numbers or Live chat via their website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With relatively fast response times and friendly, professional and efficient service, they cannot be faulted.

The Verdict

Golden Riviera is a great casino as long as you ensure that you know what their rules are and play by them. You have absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to financial transactions or customer service and their various ongoing promotions and regular slots tournaments will keep you coming back for more. All in all, I'd recommend this casino.

 

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