The Earnslaw Room is the gaming room at Wave Passage, named after the steamer that has been working this lake since 1912. It is a single room off the lobby, past The Boatshed Bar, and it takes up about a twelfth of the floor area of the hotel.
The room holds 26 gaming machines and 7 tables. It operates under the Gambling Act 2003 and a venue licence held with the Department of Internal Affairs, and it is open to guests of the hotel and to visitors from outside it on the same terms.
Gaming happens in that room and nowhere else. Nothing on this website can be played, staked or deposited. Wave Passage runs no remote gaming service of any kind and holds no licence to do so.
| Gaming machines | 26 machines | Video slots plus four reel machines along the south wall. Denominations from 1c to NZ$2. Return-to-player is printed on the glass of every machine. |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack | 3 tables | NZ$10 to NZ$300. Two tables from 11am, the third from 6pm on Friday and Saturday. |
| Roulette | 2 tables | Single-zero wheels. NZ$5 to NZ$500 on outside bets. One dealer-called table, one with an electronic display. |
| Baccarat | 1 table | Punto banco, NZ$25 to NZ$1,000, from 6pm seven days. |
| Poker | 1 table | Texas hold’em, dealer-run, Thursday to Sunday from 7pm. Nine seats and a paper list at the podium. |
| The Kelvin Room | 1 private room | One high-limit table behind a door, booked through the duty manager. Party of four or more, 24 hours’ notice, house rules as on the main floor. |
Table limits are posted at each table and change between the afternoon and the evening. The float at the cage is capped, and payouts over NZ$5,000 are settled by bank transfer the next working day rather than in cash.
The machines
Twenty-two of the 26 machines are video units running licensed game sets. The other four are older reel machines that were in the building before the rebuild and were kept because people ask for them. Denominations run from one cent to two dollars. Every machine carries its return-to-player percentage on the glass, with the maximum prize and the odds of reaching it.
Machines take cash and a printed ticket. They do not take a card, and there is no account, no loyalty tier and no points scheme attached to any of them. A machine left unattended for ten minutes is cleared by a floor host and the credit is held at the cage under a receipt number.
The tables
Blackjack runs on six decks, with a continuous shuffler on two tables and a hand shuffle on the third. The roulette wheels are single zero, which is the better of the two arrangements for the player and the reason there is no double-zero wheel in the room. Baccarat is punto banco from an eight-deck shoe. Poker is dealer-run hold’em with the rake capped at NZ$8 a hand.
The rules of every game are printed on a card at the table and a full set is kept at the podium. A dispute that cannot be settled at the table goes to the duty manager, and after that to the Department of Internal Affairs, whose details are on the notice beside the cage.
Entry is restricted to people aged 20 and over. Photo identification is checked at the door every time, for hotel guests and for regulars as well as for anyone the staff have not seen before. A New Zealand driver licence, a Kiwi Access card or a passport are the three documents accepted.
There is no membership, no sign-up and no list. There is also no entry charge.
Dress is tidy. Ski gear, wet boots and high-visibility work clothing stay out of the room; there is a rack for jackets by the door. Bags larger than a daypack go to the cloakroom in the lobby.
The door closes to new arrivals at 2am and the room shuts at 2.30am. Photography is not allowed inside, which is a condition of the licence rather than a preference.
| Opening hours | 11am to 2.30am | Seven days. Tables open in stages: blackjack and roulette at 11am, baccarat at 6pm, poker Thursday to Sunday at 7pm. |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and cards | no ATMs | There is no cash machine in the room or in the corridor outside it. The nearest is 300 m away on Shotover Street. The cage does not advance credit and the hotel does not lend against a room account. |
| Clocks | 4 clocks | A clock is visible from every table and from both ends of the machine bank. The windows are not blacked out. |
| Drinks | table service | Service from The Boatshed Bar until 1am. Staff will not serve anyone who is intoxicated, and that person is asked to leave the room. |
| Staff | host trained | Every person working the floor has completed host responsibility training and is expected to approach a guest showing signs of harm rather than wait to be asked. |
Support and self-exclusion
Self-exclusion is available at reception or by email to [email protected]. It is put in writing, takes about ten minutes, is confidential to the duty managers, and can be arranged for someone else in your family under the Gambling Act 2003. The full policy is on the Host Responsibility page.
- NZ Gambling Helpline 0800 654 655, free, 24 hours
- Need to Talk? call or text 1737
- Problem Gambling Foundation 0800 664 262
- Text 8006 · choicenotchance.org.nz · safergambling.org.nz