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Carnival ALL THIS AND
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Gambling, relaxing, shopping, conferencing; unsurprisingly, Carnival City Casino just east of Johannesburg is one of South Africa’s best known and popular all-in-one entertainment centres. Here’s why.
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arnival City, the hotel and casino, and major South Africa entertainment spot, is just 20 minutes drive from Joburg city centre and within reach of all Gautengers. Take a short drive to the corner of Century and Elsburg Road in Brakpan and you have arrived at one of the country’s premier casino destinations. Carnival City is a massive 39 000 m2 of entertainment. Facilities includes the casino, two hotels totaling 150 rooms and family suites, a 5000-seater Big Top arena, and the 500-seater Mardi Gras theatre. Open daily 24 hours, the casino’s gaming space features 1,750 gaming machines and sixty table games. Away from the tables there is retailing, a gastronomical choice of restaurants, cinemas, an impressive conference centre for banqueting events of up to 1000 people, and capacity of over 5000 people for major sporting events.
World bid comes to Carnival City One spectacular takes place at the end of this month when South Africans, Enrico Schoeman and Andre de Kock are scheduled to ride a Kawasaki-powered Australian motorcycle and sidecar through a 100m “tunnel of fire” to win a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. July 28 and the Carnival City Casino have been set as the time and place to smash the record of 60.96m set by American stuntman Clint Ewing. Schoeman, a professional photographer and De Kock a motoring journalist, have been car and motorcycle stuntmen for years, once riding a sidecar through fire tunnels at the defunct Dunswart Hotrod circuit. But for their world record bid there was a problem of finding a venue with a large enough expanse of tarmac for a 100m ride. A search was started and it led to the Carnival City Casino, whose management immediately agreed. The 100m tunnel will consist of 10 metal frames enclosed in thick cardboard on the sides, with five cardboard interior partitions. www.southafricamag.com
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The entire structure will be doused with diesel and petrol and then set alight…after which the two record chasers will attempt to ride through it.
On fire “We always caught fire during the Dunswart rides so we know what that feels like,” said De Kock. “Naturally we’ll wear fire-retarding racing suits and underwear, gloves and boots.” The venture will be used to create awareness and income for cancer research. “Cancer sufferers face a fire tunnel of their own in chemo treatment – you need courage to go through it,” says Schoeman. “You know it will hurt and you may end up with some scars, but there is an end to the tunnel, and we hope our record ride will create awareness for that fact.”
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You are a special guest! Out of the tunnel of fire and back to the rather safer environment of the Casino where you are treated as very special guests and provided with all you need to have an exciting as well as relaxing time. Carnival City Casino and Entertainment World has 1,750 total slots with a wide range of games including the Hollywood slots. The denominations of games range from 5c R500. The casino has over 60 tables, with 30 tables for smokers, and here you can play American Roulette, Blackjack, Punto Banco, and poker with bets from R5-R500 depending.
Poker at Carnival City A selection of tables is available offering a few different variations of Poker to cater for a wide range of enthusiasts. Drinks are
You can’t afford to gamble with securitY services at a casino! Hospitality and Gaming is a specialised sector of the security industry and it is the strategic objective of Magnum Shield to provide a focussed service with the vision of being regarded as a leader in this field. Carnival City recently renewed their contract with Magnum Shield extending their partnership to nine years in all. Employing 220 security staff on a 24/7 basis, staff are hand picked for their interpersonal skills and receive specialist training to the highest level. Gaming and hospitality staff is vastly different from normal security and they need to be well versed in being ‘guest friendly’. Possessing the right aptitude and attitude cannot be over emphasized and form a prerequisite for recruitment in this industry. The Gaming Board requires that certain audits are conducted on a regular and on-going basis to determine adherence to their very stringent policies and procedures. Magnum Shield has consistently scored 96% on ‘Silent Audits’ (an audit conducted by mystery guests over a period of time stipulated by Carnival City management) and 100% on ‘Key Issues’ (a monthly audit carried out by in-house surveillance controllers which is a totally independent department). These audits form an integral part of the Service Level Agreement by which Magnum Shield manages the contract, making service levels very objective and not a subjective opinion. As part of the Bidvest Group, our clients can be absolutely assured of the company’s compliance to all statutory legislation and on their commitment to good corporate governance. The Magnum Shield management team for Carnival City, under the leadership of Gerrie du Plessis, is situated on site and have an extensive knowledge and understanding of the Gaming industry boasting a combined 45 years experience. Recently, several of our Security Officers were recognised in the Sun International magazine “One Sun” for outstanding work. Commendations ranged from finding and returning a lost wallet to a guest, assisting the Russian Ambassador and his entourage on an unscheduled visit to assisting a paramedic on site to deliver a baby. In order to find the most cost effective solution for our clients, it is essential that constant focus is placed on the balanced integration of manpower and technology and whilst we believe that part of the success of this contract can be attributed to the successful integration of this factor, Magnum Shield Security has never stopped believing in its philosophy of being “excellent at the basics’. We look forward to many more years of partnership with Carnival City and through our staff at the venue, make it our goal to ensure that visitors experience ‘a million thrills, one destination’
www.magnumshield.co.za Magnum Shield Security Services PO Box 1219 • Kelvin 2054 • South Africa • Tel: 0027115554949
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complimentary depending on the levels and pace of the games. The service is ultra professional and the dealers highly trained. When a Casino is part of the Sun International group you know they take Poker seriously, and among the South African poker elite Carnival City has developed a reputation as the premier Poker destination.
A place in the sun Sun City was developed by the hotel magnate Sol Kerzner as part of his Sun International group of properties. It was officially opened in December 1979 at a time when it was located in the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana. As Bophuthatswana had been declared an independent state by South Africa’s apartheid government (although unrecognized as such
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Table Bet Range
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Games range in minimum bets of R5 to R500 American Roulette minimum: R5 - R50 Black Jack minimum: R25 - R500 Poker tables minimum: R25 Punto Banco minimum: R200 Midi Punto Banco minimum: R50
by any other country), it was allowed under the South African law at the time to provide entertainment such as gambling and topless revue shows, which were banned in South Africa. Other locational factors were its proximity to the large urban centres of Pretoria and Johannesburg. Sun Internationals roots can be traced as far back as 1969 when South African Breweries and Kerzner joined forces to form the Southern Sun Hotel Company. Nine years ago Carnival City launched the Afrisun EastRand Community Trust. The trust acts as a shareholder in Carnival City and in turn makes use of its funds for various social objectives.
Lavish accommodation There are two lavish options available to visitors - Carnival Club Hotel or Road Lodge. The Carnival Club Hotel is luxury personified and a welcome treat for overseas travellers looking for a real taste of superior South African accommodation. The rooms are well designed, the setting serene and peaceful. There are 105 standard and luxury rooms, amenities and a stunning breakfast area serving a delicious buffet. There is also a very private swimming pool, lounge and a meeting room seating up to eighteen. And after a spot of gambling why not relax at the Carnival Beauty Clinic close by? Pure value and good service.
And the Carnival goes on
Events are us No matter how big or small your event or conference, Carnival City has the infrastructure to host it in the most successful way possible. From just a few important business associates to a five thousand person event, you have a choice depending on the nature of the occasion…the Rio Hospitality Suites, Big Top Arena, Supersport Showbar, Afrisun Boardroom and the Mardi Gras Theatre. Gambling, relaxing, dining, shopping, conferencing; this is the amazing world of Carnival City and Casino. Speaking in the 1980s, Sol Kerzner described his strategy. “You take a chance...Calculate the odds, research the international market properly, establish the Southern Africans’ taste, style, appetite and enjoyment, aim at giving them a good time at the best quality they can afford then go for it.” END
A real taste of superior South African accommodation
Carnival City hosts a selection of seductive eateries; Squires, Ocean Basket, Fego Cafe, a fully fitted-out food court, Carnival Bar to catch some great live acts and a few more tremendous surprises. There are there are masses of shows on offer weekly and great shops to keep you in the loop. Whatever you need, you will find it.
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