Nostalgia Casino - Online Casino Review

Nostalgia Casino

July 11, 2005

Overview

For all of its desire to look old school Nostalgia Casino is surprisingly new. They have only been online since Jabuary 2005. The software is Microgaming and they are licensed the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada. Customers can reach their support through email and Live Chat. I realize this is rather weak, but to their defense the site states that emails will receive a response with 30 minutes. I'm just left wondering if that response is an automatic reply or not… On the other hand I tried their Live Chat and you don't have to log in, which I think is brilliant as logging in is really annoying. Their games are audited monthly and posted by PriceWaterHouse Coopers. Their odds for May 2005 were 96.29% overall, which is average to good. On the other hand their odds for April were over 100% which is fantastic. As it's a new casino this may be the right time to play since they want to gain a good reputation.

Deposits

Minimum deposit is $20. Players can deposit in $ US dollars, $ Canadian dollars, £ British pounds, and € Euros. They offer the typical range of deposit methods:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Diners Club Card
• Neteller
• Click2Pay
• Firepay
• Instadebit
• Citadel
• PaySpark
• UseMyBank
• Delta
• >Eco Card

Credit cards have some limitations. Players can register a maximum of two cards per player and purchase limits on each registered card are refreshed back to $1000 weekly.

Withdrawals

Minimum withdrawal allowed is $30. I have to admit I hate it when internet casinos do this. Make the minimum withdrawal amount the same as the deposit amount for goodness sake! As I was annoyed by this I decided to annoy poor Timothy over Live Chat:

"Please wait for a site operator to respond.
You are now chatting with 'Timothy'
Timothy: Hello, how may I help you today?
you: Is there a minumum amount required for cash out?
Timothy: $30
you: but the minimum deposit is $20?
Timothy: Yes, that is correct.
you: so if you deposited $20 and changed your mind you couldn't just cash it out?
Timothy: If you have met the wagering requirements and have at least $30 then you can.
you: if you didn't receive a bonus then there shouldn't be any wagering requirements
Timothy: Yes, if you do not receive a bonus, then you don't have to met the wagering requirements.
you: right, so if you had deposited $20 and had no bonus given and changed your mind you wouldn't be able to cash out your $20 deposit as it wasn't $30?
Timothy: No, as per the terms and conditions, the minimum cashin is $30
you: well thank you. this was enlightening"

I will say that he took my questions remarkably well and his answers were quick and concise. The whole conversation took less than 2 minutes. Usually I have to wait at least 10 minutes for the person on the other end of the Live Chat to get his or her answer. Score one big point for good customer service.

The following are listed under their withdrawal options:

• Check
• Instadebit
• Click2Play
• Neteller – Any Un-certified accounts have a transaction limit of $250.00, however, certified Neteller accounts have a monthly transaction limit of $3000.00
• Visa – Where allowed card will be credited up to deposit amount
• MasterCard – Where allowed card will be credited up to deposit amount

All winnings from credit card will go back to via any method you prefer. There's a possible fee for the check, but it doesn't state what and it only mentions it briefly in the terms and conditions. There's no mention of fee on the withdrawal page. Also, as per all casinos these days, expect some serious documentation requirements before you receive your withdrawal request.

If you made your deposit through Citadel, FirePay or InstaDebit be patient with your withdrawal request: "Winnings may be held up to seven (7) days if purchases made to the same account have been processed through Citadel, InstaDebit or Firepay."

Terms and Conditions

These are some serious terms and conditions. The wording is really interesting because everything sounds so nice, but if you look through the spin machine you'll see that some things actually aren't.

First off they start with a lie. Actually, the lie is number 2 on the list. That would be:
"2. No Tax on Winnings: Players collecting wins from The Casino is exempt from paying tax on prize monies." In the United States citizens must pay taxes on winnings above a certain amount to the IRS. While I have forgotten the particular amount I'm absolutely certain it exists and the IRS won't care less about what some internet gaming casino has listed on their terms and conditions if you win over that amount. So, this is wrong. I don't understand why they have it on there as it's unnecessary, but they do. My only guess is maybe they are trying to say that the casino doesn't have to pay the tax on prize monies given, which would be true, however that isn't what it says, and what it does say is wrong. Just ask the IRS.

You must be 21 to play. Most internet casinos are 18, but I think that's a tad young, so I like this rule. If you are from Australia or Singapore it doesn't matter how old you are. You can not play in this casino. Go away.

If you are lucky enough to win a competition then you better have your documentation ready. Actually it's better to simply make sure they have every ounce of proof they need to show that you are who you are before the competition. If they already have your documentation confirmed you will get your money within an hour of winning. Otherwise you have a week for them to get it before forfeiting and having your account suspended.

For some reason they make it really hard to say goodbye: "Upon receipt of a written request signed by a Player, The Casino shall cancel a Username and Password."

What we say is true. Unless we decide it isn't and forgot to tell you. "While considerable care has been taken in compiling and updating content on the Site, The Casino does not guarantee the accuracy of such content. To the magnitude permitted by law The Casino excludes all warranties in relation to the content and is not liable for any damage, loss, cost or expense incurred by any person using the Site." They do not guarantee the accuracy of the site content. What about the content of the terms and conditions? Can they guarantee the accuracy of that?

Bonuses

Nostalgia Casino is a new casino, so I'm not surprised at the limited bonus selection. I suspect it will be added to in time. However, with the odds that they have had lately you may not need a bonus to win.

• 200% bonus for initial sign up minimum $20 deposit, maximum $50. The bonus will be credited within 2 hours of deposit. However, read the promotional terms before you decide on this.

That's there only bonus. However, they do have a nice selection of drawings and competitions. Currently there are the following:

• Super Saturday – Cash prize drawing every 30 minutes
• Power Power Poker – Sundays play Jacks or Better Power Poker
• Turbo Charged Tuesdays – Play Five Reel Drive and win.
• Wild Wednesdays – Cash prize drawing every 30 minutes
• Thursday Thunder – Play Thunderstruck Slots and win.
• Blackjack Bonanza – Monthly tournament

One small silly thing about the website page for the Competitions, it says to click on the bonus for information. However if you do that you get a blank page. You're supposed to roll over the bonus and the information comes on the bottom of the page. QA the site people – QA!

With Nostalgia Casino it's not just what they tell you. It's what they don't tell you as well. On their Rewards page they mention loyalty points and state the following: "The more you play, the more we pay! Bonus points are paid out in units of 1,000. Redeem 1,000 points for $10 or redeem 5,000 points for $50! Our Silver, Gold and Platinum VIP members can redeem their Rewards at a higher rate - meaning more cash every week." Sounds fantastic, right? I'm thinking $1 per point which would be amazing. Actually it would be too good to be true, which of course it is. I had to check on this so I went to Live Chat:
"Kaicee: Hello, how may I help you today?
you: I have a question about Loyalty Points
you: does a $1 wager equal 1 point?
Kaicee: No it does not
Kaicee: the rates of accrual are held at management's discretion
you: your points section only states the following: Bonus points are paid out in units of 1,000 Redeem 1,000 points for $10 or redeem 5,000 points for $50!"
you: the rates are held at the managements discretion?
you: how does that work?
Kaicee: Can you give me the link to where you saw that? That is actually very old and should have been removed a long time ago
you: http://www.nostalgiacasino.com/promo_rewards.asp
you: is there a new page with current information?
Kaicee: Thanks

Silence for a few minutes, so I try again…

you: is there a new page with current information?
you: hello?

Silence for a few more minutes…

Kaicee: I apologize that is right
you: what is right?
Kaicee: 1000 reward points converts to $10.
Kaicee: That is not you pleay $10 and get 1000 reward points
you: ok, but it doesn't state how much you have to wager to earn a point
you: which is some critical information regarding a loyalty program
Kaicee: That is what management does not release
you: OK, thank you
Kaicee: All I know is each game has a different rate
you: I appreciate all of the information you have given me. Thank you

Poor dear, management isn't letting her give any real information. Doesn't matter – sounds like a ridiculous loyalty program to me.

Promotional Terms and Conditions

This was actually in their Terms and Conditions but it's regarding bonuses so I'm throwing it in here. The way Nostalgia Casino have this set up and the way they have it written is just brilliant. First off, they give you a "bonus account" which they SAY is just like your regular account and you just play from that account until you make your wagering requirements. That sounds easy enough right? Then they slip in the following: "The player is required to meet the minimum level of play requirement for the promotion by playing in the bonus account. Once the minimum level of play requirement is met, the player may transfer their accrued winnings (less the bonus amount) to their real account." In other words the bonus is sticky. You NEVER get to cash it out, only the winnings. Oh there's more – the minimum transfer to your regular account is 50 credits.  

Not surprisingly (as the bonus is sticky) wagering requirements are rather low. The wagering requirement on "most games" is 15 times the bonus plus deposit. The following games have a 45 times bonus plus deposit requirement: Blackjack (except Vegas Strip Blackjack), Roulette, and all Poker games. On the other hand these games aren't counted at all: Craps, Baccarat and Vegas Strip Blackjack.

Once you get a bonus you must meet the terms and conditions before being able to cash out.

I really liked this paragraph in the description of the bonus account: "What's even better is that if you hit that elusive Royal Flush or 5 Line Payout - once you meet your minimum level of play, it's yours to keep! So unlike other bonus systems that only let you play your bonus winnings in your bonus account, you can transfer your winnings into real money!" Guess what? If you hit that elusive Royal Flush or 5 Line Payout in any internet gaming casino it would be yours to keep once you met the wagering requirements. That's why it's called WINNINGS. They did such a nice job on wording the spin it almost passes you by as something special. Awww.

Download version

What can I say? It's a Microgaming casino in all of its glory. I tried to log in as a Guest User and kept getting an error so I logged out and tried again, success this time, no reason to contact customer service. The casino is typical of all Microgaming casinos. You have Playcheck in the upper left corner that gives you your game history for the past 72 hours. Playcheck is updated every 45 minutes. Next to it is an option to view your banking history, see payout percentage reports, link to news, and loyalty program. They have the best game options of any casino software design company.

Browser version

Microgaming does a great Flash casino for the internet. Some of the slots games offer the same expert mode options as their download counterparts (autoplay, 5 times and, 10 times automatic spins).  This is probably the best browser version I have seen in terms of closeness to the download version. Typically they are worlds apart.

Overall

What a fun site to read. The payout percentage is good, the bonus selection – well, there's one bonus. However there's a nice selection of competitions and drawings and as the casino is new (January 2005) I can't imagine there's much actual competition in the competitions and drawings, so you would have a better chance to win. That in itself makes this place a winner, in spite of its sticky bonus and ridiculous Rewards program (where they won't actually give any information). The customer service was really good and I was very pleased with them. They don't offer phone support, but I don't really see why they should have to. Live chat and email should be enough for now.

With all of this said I found out on the message boards that Nostalgia used to be an RTG casino. I don't know how long ago the casino was opened, or the details of the changeover. The message board reviews, however, were excellent for honesty and integrity.