DESCRIPTION

Manage your own gambling casino on the Las Vegas strip in Sierra's tour de force management simulation for wannabe entrepreneurs. Hoyle Casino Empire puts you in charge of hiring and firing staff (showgirls, waitresses, security, and dealers), booking celebrities, day-to-day management of casino functions (food, chapels, game selection, and tables), and enticing tourists by the busload. Deal with every type of customer from drunks, cheaters, and troublemakers to VIPs, high rollers, and professional gamblers.

Success depends on creating a good combination of casino inducements including décor, a desirable blend of entertaining gambling venues like slots, poker, baccarat, blackjack, and dice games, establishing a fair "house edge" and setting reasonable stakes, choosing slot game themes, and providing services. Placing amusement rides, bars, bingo parlors, buffets, cafés, cashier booths, money wheels, gift shops, Keno and high stakes rooms, lounges, restaurants, restrooms, sports gambling facilities, and wedding chapels is instrumental in attracting patrons.

As in most people-oriented management simulations, monitoring customer reactions in areas such as satisfaction, sobriety, bathroom needs, thirst, hunger, and energy is essential. Complimentary tokens, show tickets and more keep the masses coming back, as do upgrades to hotel rooms, marketing ploys, casino events, and outsmarting the competition. Hoyle Casino Empire offers the choice of running an establishment the Chamber of Commerce could be proud of or sleazing your way to profits with the help of mob connections.

More than just a management simulation, Casino Empire also allows you to play in or host blackjack and poker tournaments (non-pay outs for fun or revenue earning to pump cash into your casino). Both Empire (campaign) and Sandbox (free play with no time limits or missions) modes are available in this single-player game. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide