Casino54 - Premium Playing Cards

Full disclosure, I received a prototype version of this deck to test it out and provide feedback prior to the Kickstarter campaign (which launches today, 3/24). That said, I always provide a fair and honest review.

Printed by Cartamundi on their True Linen B9 Finish stock, this deck was made with the purpose of being usable by magicians, but also for cardistry and sitting down to play an actual game (what?! playing games with cards, that's unheard of!). -- Seriously though, when I started buying these "luxury" decks I almost freaked when my kids started playing Go Fish with a $15 deck... and then I realized, they're called "playing cards" for a reason =]

Back to Casino54 though. The tuck has a matte finish with an intricate but subtle design throughout the background. There aren't any bells and whistles like embossing or foiling. On the flaps under the lid are dice, a 6 and a 4, so you're able to toss in a mentalism trick right there too.

The cards themselves are pretty nice, in my opinion. The back design isn't too busy, but it's definitely not minimalistic either. It has a roulette vibe through and through. As far as I can tell, it is not a one-way design, and they're not marked.

The faces are "fairly" standard. I say fairly because the spot cards don't feature any custom artwork -- but the pips are elongated which give them a small flair of uniqueness. The courts are where the real fun comes into play. Each court features custom artwork -- nothing too extravagant or outrageous, they still very much represent the Jack, Queen, and King -- just, animated. Each has a theme of a person who you'd see in a casino. The colors are vibrant and everything flows really nicely.

I've been playing with the deck for a few days and like most decks, it's well worn in already -- but the point is, it's been nice enough of a deck to keep tinkering with.

If you're interested in a full review and to see everything close-up, check out the video on my YouTube:



If you'd like to grab a deck, well, back the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mag......-edition