Aladdin's Gold Casino was launched in 2008. While that makes the casino relatively new, it doesn't explain why the site has been snubbed from most "Best Of" lists in the last couple years. Maybe the lack of hype is due to the fact that Aladdin's Gold is operated by a relatively new face in the gambling industry - Club World Casinos. Either way, after experiencing the site for ourselves we're ready to vouch for both Aladdin's Gold and its designer.

We will concede that players on an older computer may get a bad first impression of Aladdin's Gold Casino. That's because their very involved home page animations can make the site painfully slow to load. We promise it's worth the wait, but you might want to turn off your speakers until the graphics are ready to avoid the irritating twang created by the sound loop.

If you've got the right setup, then a lightning fast load will get you straight to the good stuff at Aladdin's Gold. Namely, you'll see much more in-depth site animations which not only tell a story, but which incorporate characters that you'll see again in the casino and even in some of the games. That said, the wonderful look and feel of the site doesn't quite make up for the fact that every page you view will have to first be loaded, including pages you've already visited. The same could be said of the casino lobby, which is "cute" and extremely usable, but which doesn't have enough bells and whistles to justify the loading delays.

We love the layout of the site and are truly pleased with the information offered and the fun way it's presented, but that doesn't quite make up for the constant wait. That said, we were pleased to see that once a page had downloaded, other links inside that page instantly initiated a pop-up window, instead of loading yet another extension of the site.

Aladdin's Gold Casino operates on a Real Time Gaming platform. This casino is a perfect example of what the creative heads at RTG are really capable of. Some day their sites will revolutionize the industry, and we wouldn't be surprised if Aladdin's Gold was a part of that change. It's important to acknowledge again that the software at Aladdin's Gold does have one obvious failing - that every page of the site and the casino lobby are consistently slow to load.

If you have the patience to wait out Aladdin's Gold's irritating page loads, then you'll be well rewarded. The casino animations are done in a very old fashioned style, and yet the end result is a surprisingly fresh and likable look.

Potential Aladdin's Gold players that are not yet ready to download the software can actually see their lobby and game list - in full - via a flash preview on the games page of the site. Check it out, and what you'll see are over 120 premium casino games. Their slots selection includes RTG's signature Real Series Slots, video slots, 3-reel classic slots and bonus 3-reel slots. We especially recommend the Aladdin's Wishes game, which cleverly incorporates characters from the casino, and the Club World Casinos game which highlights Aladdin's Gold's parent company.

Video poker fans have an amazing 18 variations to choose from, while table game players can pick between six blackjack variants and 10 other table game classics like baccarat and Pai Gow Poker. The site also offers eight different speed-oriented specialty games including four different scratch cards. Aladdin's Gold is sadly barren of any tournament events, but their 11 progressive jackpots with prizes regularly exceeding $1 million almost make up for the oversight.

The Aladdin's Gold Casino makes it easy for their members to get their sign-up bonus. Gone are the hard-to-find coupon codes; Aladdin's Gold offers a special bonus page that allows players to redeem their first deposit bonus simply by clicking on its link prior to making a deposit. As a new Aladdin's Gold member, you'll probably be clicking on their welcome bonus a lot. Speaking of which, when it comes to their sign-up bonus Aladdin's Gold does things a little differently. Instead of spreading their max value out over several deposits, the site offers unlimited 200% matches on all bonuses made within your first week as a member.

Unfortunately, once the honeymoon is over getting future bonuses can be a bit of a scavenger hunt. Players must always remember to enter the necessary code to claim the site's regular Monday bonuses, and you may need to enter several codes to qualify for weekend rollovers. Some players may like the site's straightforward comps program, which has a pretty generous conversion rate of $10 to 1 point. But other players may not like that their points can only be converted back into cash, and regular players will probably be disappointed to see that Aladdin's Gold currently has no VIP program.

Aladdin's Gold posts a toll free number at the top of every page and scatters Support and Live Chat links all over their website and casino, making it easy for distressed players to instantly connect with live, 24/7 support staff. The site's “Contact Us” page takes support a step further by offering phone numbers, fax numbers, an email template and another live chat link in addition to an actual mailing address - which is almost unheard of these days.

We genuinely enjoyed testing Aladdin's Gold, despite minor setbacks like site loading times and an underwhelming player rewards program. Players that are looking for a Las Vegas-style theme will no doubt be impressed by the site's comprehensive branding efforts and innovative animations. We have a feeling that this exciting casino won't be a secret for long.