Hemingway would have loved it. A cigar dangling from his mouth, sitting at his favorite restaurant El Floridita, sipping what would later be called a Hemingway Daiquiri, and undoubtedly mulling over the story that was to become the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Old Man and the Sea”, he most certainly would have been at least amused, if not fascinated, to be able to play blackjack at the Havana Club Casino, named after the famous 400-year old rum found in his daiquiri.

Set in the Forties, the Havana Club Casino relives the memories of the flashy and wild Cuban culture and the masses of wealthy Americans which made Havana the high-society vacation spot before the Bay of Pigs fiasco.

Available in both Flash and download versions, Havana Club Casino is hosted by the sexy Nina Garcia, who is waiting to give you a 100% bonus with your first deposit of up to $50! (Editor’s note – Bonuses change on a regular basis – please visit the site for the latest bonus)

I chose to play at the downloadable version with 65 games to select from – forgive me but I always feel safer and more comfortable playing the download versions, having already invested the time to download and minimizing in-game pauses. And since it was Chinese New Year (February 2003), I thought I’d splurge a little – and by a strange coincidence happened upon a slot name “Fortune Cookie”.

As a general rule, I only play bonus and progressive slots if I play slots at all – but for some strange reason I decided to give it a shot. Fortune Cookie is a single line, 3-reel slot machine with multiple denominations for you to choose from. I decided to give it a shot playing $1 tokens, max bet $2.

You know, I hate single-line slots. I LOVE 9-line slots – perhaps because there appears to be more chance of winning – when in fact you are losing more! What strange spirit caused me to play this slot machine, I’ll never know – unless it was the Goddess of Fortune suddenly shining down on me… for a $400 win – two 7s and a Fortune Cookie (see picture) – three 7s would be worth $200 but the Fortune Cookie was wild and DOUBLED the value of the win!

From now on I LIKE Fortune Cookies, whether they are slots or those strange desserts you get at Chinese fast-food places 🙂

I left that machine immediately after the win, thinking that I would use some of the winnings to test a few other games. And indeed I did, losing a little back at 5-Reel Drive, Belissimo, and the High Noon Bonus slot. Oh well, you win some, you lose some – in this case I still left with a healthy balance above my deposit.

To make a long review short, Havana Club Casino is powered by Microgaming, handles its own support as well as e-commerce transactions – a very good move because this ensures that the right hand knows what the left is doing! Though I haven’t cashed out yet, I’m certain things will move quite quickly here as I am acquainted with some of their management.

So dance your way down to the Havana Club Casino – from the moment Nina greets you, you’re sure to have a swinging time!