I liked Players Casino right from the get-go. The graphics are slick and sophisticated. And because they use software by Softec Systems I knew the games would be good.

Players makes it easy to get started. The "quick download" option had me up and running in 15 minutes. But the real thrills came when I received the free full-casino CD a few weeks later.

Players Casino captures the excitement of casino gambling better than any other software I've seen. The ambient sounds, music, and slightly sleazy images definitely crank up the thrill factor. This is as close as I've come to feeling the thrill of live casino gambling. It's software like this that puts no-download JAVA games to shame. Actually, this even puts some download games to shame.

Players has lots and lots of games -- all the standards plus exotics like pachinko and sic bo. Then add to that bingo, horses and sportsbetting.

One thing I've found missing from online casinos is entertainment apart from gambling. Hotel casinos offer revues and concerts. What do we get at online casinos? Players has the answer -- an adult theatre were you can watch about 20 softcore video clips from the sizzle.com library. The shows range from women riding horse topless to strippers taped at the No. 5 Orange. Sure, it's not exactly Siegfried and Roy but, for your average male gambler, entertaining none the less.

I do have one important technical note to pass on. Some mouse drivers leave an annoying trail across Players' game screens. I experienced this problem and the readme file gave a quick fix (add "/mouse" to the properties file). Of course Players offers 24 hour toll-free technical support (through Softec Systems) as every good online casino must.

I also have bad news for Canadian gamblers. Players does not currently accept real-money bets from Canada but you can play the games for fun.

Players Casino is an exciting, sophisticated adult casino. In brief, a hell of a lot of fun. I give Players Casino a full-house.