I just paid my taxes a few weeks ago and my bank account's a little dry. So I was more than happy to jump at the chance of 25 bucks free for gambling at The Gaming Club. Hey, if the cards fall right I should walk away with 500 bucks with no risk. Am I right?

The Gaming Club uses MicroGaming software. As mentioned in previous reviews, MicroGaming's casino games (downloadable by the way) aren't the snazziest but they're okay. And The Gaming Club is part of MicroGaming's CashSplash progressive slot machine network. In fact, The Gaming Club recently paid out the biggest online progressive jackpot ever: $136,774.14.

I went through the sign-up process and The Gaming Club proved true to their word. Twenty-five dollars appeared in my account and I hit the blackjack table. Unfortunately the cards didn't fall my way and I was cleaned out in a matter of minutes.

Now a couple things have always annoyed me about MicroGaming's blackjack. First, the cards are dealt way too slowly. And second, you can only bet in increments of 2 so there's no $5 chip.

Still, MicroGaming and The Gaming Club do have a few things to be said in their favor. Their PlayCheck system, which allows you to track your playing history to resolve disputes, is an excellent innovation. And The Gaming Club's payout percentages are audited by Price Waterhouse Coopers. The latest report I viewed online (for February 2000) indicated an overall payout of 96.71% with slots giving the poorest return at 94.93% and table games the best at 98.18%. For comparison, a recent, similar audit at Sunset Casino revealed an overall 97.23% return.

I didn't get a chance to play video poker -- my bonus didn't stretch that far -- but I did note that the pay table for Jacks or Better is 1 2 3 4 6 9 25 50 250 and for Deuces Wild 1 2 2 3 4 13 16 25 200 250. Published actual payout for The Gaming Club's poker games (again for February 2000) is 95.97%.

To sum up, there are better casino games than those offered by The Gaming Club but few better bonuses. They'll give you $25 free. So what's the harm in trying them out?