Manchester (:o )has been chosen as the surprise location of Britain's first Las Vegas-style super-casino.

 

The decision is a blow for Blackpool and London's former Millennium Dome which were the bookmakers' favourites.

 

The licence will allow Manchester to build a venue for up to 1,250 unlimited-jackpot gaming machines.

 

Licences for smaller casinos were granted to Great Yarmouth, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, Solihull and Southampton.

 

The Casino Advisory Panel also granted licences for the smallest type of casino to Bath and North East Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton.

 

Manchester was a 16-1 outsider at the bookmakers to be selected as a test-bed for the UK's first regional "resort" casino.

 

'Regeneration'

 

There has been speculation that more super-casino licences might be awarded in future by ministers.

 

But the BBC understands that Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell will tell MPs later that there will definitely be no more awarded this Parliament.

 

Stephen Crow, chairman of the independent Casino Advisory Panel, said Manchester had been chosen because of its "very thorough consultation" with the local community and "the way it dealt with questions of problem gambling".

 

"Manchester has a catchments area for a casino second only to that of London, and it is an area in need of regeneration at least as much as any of the others we observed.

 

"Indeed, the city has the greatest need in terms of multiple deprivation of all the proposals that were before us," Prof Crow said in a statement.

 

He told BBC News 24 political rows surrounding the bid process "did not take any part in our consideration".

 

And he was confident the panel's decision was "watertight" if it came to a legal challenge from any of the losing bidders.

 

Vote

 

Downing Street said Ms Jowell will make a Commons statement on the panel's decision at 1530 GMT.

 

"Tessa Jowell has to make up her mind whether to accept the panel's decision and then it goes to the House to vote on," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

 

A spokeswoman for Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who was embroiled in controversy over close links with billionaire Millennium Dome owner Philip Anschutz, said he would not be commenting.

 

"It's not his area of responsibility any more," she added.

 

Doug Garrett, chief executive of ReBlackpool, the urban regeneration company that worked on the town's bid, said the decision was a "smack in the face for Blackpool".

 

"It is tragic. It is very difficult to see how they have drawn their conclusions," said Mr Garrett.

 

Previous assessment had put Manchester at the bottom of the seven bidders, and all local government bodies and regeneration agencies in the region backed Blackpool, not Manchester, added Mr Garrett.

 

"It is a very strange decision, we need to look into the rationale. Manchester has come from nowhere. It was a real, real dark horse," he said.

 

Dome 'disappointed'

 

Councillor Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: "This is fantastic news for Manchester, and the region.

 

"Manchester has an unrivalled track record in the delivery of major regeneration schemes so we are confident we have the expertise to deliver a world-class venue, creating thousands of new jobs for local people."

 

A spokesman for Dome bidders AEG said: "We are very disappointed that the London Borough of Greenwich has not been recommended as the location for the first regional casino.

 

"We are taking time to examine the findings in full and considering our position."

 

Manchester's bid organisers said it would regenerate a poor area of east of the City, promising a £265m investment and 2,700 direct and indirect jobs in one of the most deprived parts of the country.

 

The casino would be based at Sportcity in the Beswick area of Manchester, close to the City of Manchester Stadium, now used by Manchester City FC and built for the Commonwealth Games.

 

The proposed site will also contain an entertainment complex with a range of facilities such as a multi-purpose arena, a swimming pool, an urban sports venue, restaurants, bars, a nightclub and a hotel.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6312707.stm

Delight in city at casino victory

 

 

Manchester's leaders have reacted with delight to the announcement the city is to host the UK's first super-casino.

 

The site at east Manchester was dubbed a "rank outsider" in the race for the licence, with regional support focused on the bid from Blackpool.

 

But business groups and political leaders hailed the news as fantastic - and a result of the city's strong bid.

 

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City council, said it would be good for east Manchester's regeneration.

 

"I think the bookies did have us as a rank outsider this morning but fortunately it was an independent panel making the decision, not the bookies," said Sir Richard.

 

"It is going to be a real boost to the regeneration of what is one of the most deprived areas of the country. And we're now really looking forward to taking this forward."

 

The North West Development Agency had thrown its weight behind the Blackpool bid, which meant there was less regional support for Manchester.

 

It left the city as a 16-1 outsider at the bookmakers to be selected as a test-bed for the UK's first regional "resort" casino.

 

But Angie Robinson, chief executive of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said she was confident in the city's proposal.

 

"The interesting thing is everybody is sort of saying to us 'Oh, I bet you must be a bit shocked because this is sort of rank outsider stuff.' Well, no.

 

'Greatest need'

 

"We're not shocked at all - it was a brilliant bid.

 

"There's a compelling case for the opportunities to develop this particular part of the leisure industry here and the regeneration benefits that will be offered to the east part of Manchester are absolutely great."

 

Plans for the casino complex at the Sportscity complex in east Manchester will include an arena, swimming pool, nightclub and hotel.

 

In making its decision, the panel said the area had the "greatest need in terms of multiple deprivation" of all the proposals.

 

Among the widespread delight in the city, there was a cautious welcome from the city council's Liberal Democrats.

 

Coun Simon Ashley, leader of the group, said the party would only support the casino if it can shown that the benefits outweigh the social concerns.

 

"Of course we welcome the investment this will mean to Manchester in terms of jobs and regeneration," said Mr Ashley.

 

"However, the council needs to make sure that this casino is as socially responsible as it can be."

 

The casino's proposed site is at the same location where Manchester hosted some of the major events of the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

 

Labour MP Graham Stringer, whose Blackley constituency covers north Manchester, believes the regeneration that followed this event may have been a catalyst for the panel's decision.

 

He said the east Manchester community lost their scepticism when they saw the Commonwealth Games were a success for regenerating the area, one of the poorest in the UK.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6313121.stm

Blackpool's dismay at casino snub

 

 

Political leaders in Blackpool have reacted with dismay to the announcement that Manchester is to host Britain's first super-casino.

The Casino Advisory Panel made its recommendation on Tuesday, ending months of speculation over the site.

 

Steve Weaver, Blackpool Council's chief executive, said the resort was "surprised and hugely disappointed" the panel did not go for the favourite.

 

"It just makes us more determined not to give up," he added.

 

Although seven towns and cities were short listed to bid for the licence to build a venue for up to 1,250 unlimited-jackpot fruit machines, Blackpool was regarded as a joint front runner with Greenwich.

 

The news has astounded some councillors and regeneration experts: even the North West Development Agency, which covers Manchester and Blackpool, had backed the seaside resort.

 

Doug Garrett, chief executive of ReBlackpool, the urban regeneration company that worked on the town's bid, said: "I'm very disappointed indeed at the outcome, Blackpool's future was something built around our plan.

 

"We believe the case that we put forward was a compelling one.

 

"We certainly won't be taking this as an end result. We still want to see change here."

 

His views were echoed by Alan Cavill, head of corporate policy and development at Blackpool council.

 

He admitted that Manchester was probably the worst location for the town because its vicinity was close enough to draw visitors away from Blackpool.

 

"We are absolutely gutted. Seven years of work has gone into this bid," he said.

 

"We will fight this decision by lobbying and try to change it and we will continue with the process and try to get an early release of new licenses if that's possible."

 

'Move forward'

 

Under the guidelines, the super-casino must address a need for regeneration in the chosen area, which is likely to have high levels of unemployment and social deprivation.

 

According to studies from the Institute for Public Policy Research, the number of tourists visiting Blackpool is dropping by up to 2% each year.

 

Blackpool South Labour MP Gordon Marsden said he was "obviously very disappointed" at the decision.

 

"We believe it was right that the casino should go outside of London, but it should have come to Blackpool.

 

"We had all the support and backing. We will have to look very carefully at the fine print of the decision and then decide how to move forward."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/6312949.stm

Casino decision stuns London team

 

 

Supporters of London's bid for the UK's first super-casino have expressed their shock at losing out to Manchester.

The former Millennium Dome site in Greenwich, south-east London, and Blackpool had been favourites to win.

 

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said an opportunity to boost the regeneration of one of UK's most deprived areas "had been missed".

 

Greenwich's Chamber of Commerce leader Steve Nelson said he was "absolutely flabbergasted and very disappointed".

 

'Casino needs Greenwich'

 

The mayor said the casino would have helped the Dome in its ambition to become "western Europe's largest entertainment centre".

 

"The opportunity to secure employment opportunities for many hundreds in one of the UK's most deprived areas has been lost," he said.

 

Mr Livingstone said he would continue to lobby the government to allow a casino at the site.

 

Meanwhile, Mr Nelson said he was "disappointed for the thousands of people who won't get the jobs that the casino would have brought".

 

"I'm disappointed that the hotels that were going to be built, aren't going to be built.

 

"I'm disappointed for all those tourists who won't be able to stay in Greenwich.

 

"I really do think that as much as Greenwich needed the casino... the casino needed Greenwich to be a real success."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6313183.stm

Cardiff loses 'super casino' bid

 

 

Cardiff has lost a bid to be chosen for the site of the UK's first so-called "super casino", offering 24-hour Las Vegas-style gambling.

But Swansea lands one of the 16 smaller casinos offering jackpots of up to £4,000.

 

Cardiff had bid against Blackpool, London, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester for the bigger licence.

 

In a surprise announcement, favourites Blackpool and London lost out to Manchester's winning bid.

 

The Welsh capital had said it needed the casino to finish its waterfront sports village in time for the 2012 Olympics.

 

The decision was made by the Casino Advisory Panel, made up of five members including experts in planning and regeneration, and led by Professor Stephen Crowe, of Cardiff University's School of Urban and Regional Planning.

 

Detrimental effects

 

Cardiff Council believed that landing the casino, with its promise of 1,500 jobs, was vital if the sports village is to be completed in time to be a host venue for the London Olympics.

 

Speaking ahead of the announcement, Nigel Howells, Cardiff Council's board executive member for sport, leisure and culture, said the casino could bring in £265m a year to the local economy.

 

He said they had been working hard with Rhondda Cynon Taff to ensure that the skills are developed to secure what would be high quality jobs.

 

Asked about the social and detrimental effects of gambling, Mr Howells said:? What we're looking at is to constructively address the problem.

 

"That's why one of the key items when we chose our operator was their experience with this and they have well established programmes for identifying problem gamblers."

 

Mr Howells also said he believed there should be more than one 'super casino' in the UK.

 

"I think it would make sense particularly in the light of devolved government in the UK, " he said.

 

"Wales should have a casino in my view and in order for you to properly test pilot operations it would seem sensible to have more than one location."

 

The panel also offered licences for eight larger casinos and eight small casinos.

 

Large casinos will have a minimum area of 1,000 sq m and up to 150 slot machines with a maximum jackpot of £4,000.

 

The small casinos will have a minimum customer area of 750 sq m, up to 80 slot machines and a jackpot of £4,000.

 

Swansea was one of 67 local authorities in England and Wales which applied to the panel for one of those 16 venues.

 

The city already has a casino being built at Salubrious Place, near Wind Street, by national chain Aspinalls.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6310955.stm

Manchester set to become Britain's first "Las Vegas"!!

 

Manchester wins licence to build Britain's first supercasino

 

Last updated at 16:34pm on 30th January 2007 Comments (38)

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell (above) and the planned casino site (below)

 

Click to enlarge

 

function show(boxid) { if (boxid == 'one') { hideall(); showstuff('one'); } if (boxid == 'two') { hideall(); showstuff('two') } } function hideall(){ hidestuff('one'); hidestuff('two'); }

Manchester will host the UK's first Las Vegas-style supercasino, it was announced today.

The Casino Advisory Panel's shock decision is a blow to Blackpool and the Millennium Dome, which were considered front-runners to win the licence.

 

Up to 1,250 unlimited jackpot gaming machines will be housed on a 5,000 square metre site.

Steve Weaver, chief executive of Blackpool Council, whose bid was the bookmakers' favourite, said the resort was "surprised and hugely disappointed by the Panel's recommendation but we are not giving up".

Blackpool and the Millennium Dome were tipped as the two frontrunners among the seven shortlisted bidders.

 

The decision is a blow to US tycoon Philip Anschutz's bid to open the UK's first supercasino in Greenwich. The Anschutz Entertainment-Group (AEG) will now scrutinise the panel's verdict and is ready to challenge it with a judicial review if it believes the decision is flawed.

 

Ministers may privately welcome the decision following the controversy over Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's visit to Mr Anschutz's Colorado ranch.

 

Mr Prescott was rapped for failing to declare the visit in the Commons Register of Members' Interests and it later emerged that he had met Mr Anschutz on seven occasions.

 

The Dome bid was hit with further controversy after the Standard revealed that building work on a "casino shell" had already started before the Casino Advisory Panel's decision.

 

AEG had threatened to scale down its plans if the Dome was not selected as the venue and the decision could now see investment in the Greenwich peninsula cut by £350 million. The Casino Advisory Panel's decision will now go to Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, who has backed the relaxation of the gambling laws.

 

But Mr Anschutz may still get an opportunity to open a huge gaming centre at the Dome before the 2012 Olympics.

 

A three-year pilot study to assess the social impact of a supercasino could conclude within two years and pave the way for a new wave of huge casinos.

 

And it emerged today that Labour had approved certificates for 145 casino developments in Britain since 2001. At the moment these casinos are limited to jackpots of £4,000 but campaigners believe they could soon be allowed to "trade up" to become large or even supercasinos with unlimited prizes.

 

Ms Jowell said she and gambling minister Richard Caborn had no "secret plans" for more supercasinos. She said: "It's categoric nonsense to suggest that ministers have any secret plans to increase the number of regional casinos.

 

"To suggest that I and Richard Caborn have a secret plan to subvert the regime we are putting in place and the public safeguards - that is categorically untrue."

 

Greenwich council, which had made the case for a massive gambling complex at the Dome, with up to 1,250 unlimited prize jackpot machines, expressed its disappointment at the decision.

 

The council's Labour leader Chris Roberts said: "I would like to congratulate Manchester on the success of their bid and wish them every success for the future.

 

"I would also like to pay tribute to the Casino Advisory Panel for their hard work and continued commitment to the process.î At Blackpool the decision was greeted with dismay. A spokesman said: "Blackpool has spent millions of pounds pursuing its dream of creating a great place to visit and a better place to live."

Casino Advisory Panel chair Professor Stephen Crow, said: "All the proposals shortlisted for the regional casino presented their own particular and compelling strengths.

"We were, however, particularly impressed by Manchester's proposal, which in our view offers great promise.

"We found that the proposal had a unique formula to offer which served to set it apart from the others presented to us in terms of the full range of our specific remitted criteria of best test of social impact, regeneration need and benefits and willingness to license."

Manchester's bid promised the "highest standards of social responsibility", with an independent Community Trust overseeing its workings.

Bid organisers said it would regenerate a poor area of east Manchester, promising a £265 million investment and 2,700 direct and indirect jobs in one of the most deprived parts of the country.

The bid also boasted an "unrivalled track record" in delivering major regeneration schemes that have transformed deprived areas of the city in the past.

The casino would be based at Sportcity in the Beswick area of Manchester, close to the City of Manchester Stadium, now used by Manchester City FC and built for the Commonwealth Games.

The bid was backed by the city council and regeneration quango New East Manchester.

The proposed regional casino site will also contain an entertainment complex with a range of facilities such as a multi-purpose arena, a swimming pool, an urban sports venue, restaurants, bars, a nightclub and a hotel.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell will consider the CAP's proposals before putting her recommendations to Parliament for a vote.

Doug Garrett, chief executive of ReBlackpool, the urban regeneration company that worked on the town's bid, said: "I'm very disappointed indeed at the outcome, Blackpool's future was something built around our plan.

"We believe the case that we put forward was a compelling one. We certainly won't be taking this as an end result. We still want to see change here. I'm very surprised but anything is a possibility.

"We still have a plan that was good and right yesterday and is good and right today despite the findings of the advisory panel."

Blackpool South Labour MP Gordon Marsden said he was "obviously very disappointed" at the decision.

"We believe it was right that the casino should go outside of London, but it should have come to Blackpool.

"We had all the support and backing. We will have to look very carefully at the fine print of the decision and then decide how to move forward."

He stressed that the competition had been close, and it was not that much of a shock that Manchester had won.

"Nothing on these occasions should be a surprise. All the short-listed locations were possibilities," he said.

But Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, said: "This will bring massive investment to Manchester, creating much-needed jobs and training opportunities in the catering, hospitality and leisure industries.

"The proposed development will not only attract visitors, boosting the local and regional economy, but it will provide new state-of-the-art venues for the local community to enjoy."

The leader of Manchester City Council, councillor Richard Leese, said: "This is fantastic news for Manchester and the region. We have always believed that Manchester offers a robust test bed for the successful implementation of this major leisure and tourism development.

"The casino will be located at the heart of a city-region with a population of three million.

"Manchester has an unrivalled track record in the delivery of major regeneration schemes so we are confident we have the expertise to deliver a world-class venue, creating thousands of new jobs for local people."

CAP also announced the venues for another eight large and eight small casinos today from a shortlist of 29 bidders.

The large casinos will cover up to 1,500 square metres and house up to 150 gaming machines with jackpots of up to £4,000.

They will be based in Great Yarmouth, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, Solihull and Southampton.

Small casinos up to 750 square metres large and housing up to 80 of the £4,000 maximum jackpot gaming machines will be based in: Bath and North East Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton.

Mr Garrett added that the decision was "strange" and said the panel had missed "a golden opportunity" to revitalise an ailing town. He said: "It is a smack in the face for Blackpool. It is tragic.

"It is very difficult to see how they have drawn their conclusions."

Mr Garrett said a previous assessment had put Manchester at the bottom of the seven bidders, and all local government bodies and regeneration agencies in the region backed Blackpool, not Manchester.

He added: "All the comments and the sub regional parties all backed Blackpool. It is a very strange decision, we need to look into the rationale. Manchester has come from nowhere. It was a real, real dark horse."

Blackpool visitor numbers are now just 10 million a year and falling at 2 per cent annually - down from 20 million in its heyday. The resort needs millions of investment and has an unemployment rate of 7 per cent, well above the national average.

Mr Garrett compared the town to Manchester: "They have had years of investment, the whole Sport City development, there's an enormously vibrant economy already in place there.

"A golden opportunity has been missed to revitalise the whole local economy. "We are not going to give up on this. It is only a recommendation."

A source close to Tessa Jowell said the Culture Secretary had been "surprised" at the CAP's decision to recommend Manchester for regional casino status.

"She was as surprised as everyone else by the recommendation but very impressed by the persuasive arguments put forward," he said.

When Ms Jowell makes a statement to the House this afternoon, she will set out how Parliament will be asked to approve the licences.

She is set to quash speculation that the Government will increase the number of casino licences, the source said.

Mr Blair's spokesman that no decisions had been taken on whether to license any more supercasinos.

Any further licences would have to be approved by Parliament, he said. "Let us just take this step by step," he added.

Manchester Central Labour MP Tony Lloyd said he was "absolutely delighted" at the decision, which would "kick start" regeneration in east Manchester.

He said: "The media focus was on Blackpool and Greenwich but we always thought Manchester had a great chance.

"Obviously, I'm bound to say it was the best bid, but clearly in the end the independent assessors realised Manchester would run a casino that would give the most back to the community.

"The Manchester bid is very well-structured to make sure it creates the jobs and skills the area desperately needs."

He added: "I'm delighted around 2,500 jobs will be created in east Manchester, an area of high unemployment. It's already an area of regeneration, but this will really kick start that processs."

Labour MP Graham Stringer, whose Blackley constituency covers north Manchester, echoed Mr Lloyd's comments. "I'm absolutely delighted," he said. "It was so unexpected."

He also believes Manchester's promise to regenerate the local community swung the judges.

He said: "There's a record in the area of regeneration on the back of major events, the biggest one being the Commonwealth Games.

"There's community support because people lost their scepticism when they saw the Commonwealth Games were not only a success as a sporting spectacular but also in terms of regenerating one of the poorest areas in the UK."

Shadow culture secretary Hugo Swire said he was pleased the panel had chosen a site in the north of England, but warned against adding further casinos "by stealth".

"Before the pilot scheme was even announced, there have been suggestions that Ministers are looking to increase the number of supercasinos.

"This was not what Parliament agreed to. We need a proper pilot with a full assessment of the impact on gambling addiction and crime as well as the economic benefits. This must not be a holding pen for an increase in supercasinos by stealth."

He also hit out at ministers for their handling of the affair, and warned there should be no hasty efforts to "appease" losing bidders.

"This process has been mired in controversy thanks to the Government's apparent closeness to overseas casino operators, and this will no doubt lead to the decision being mired in the courts for some considerable time.

"Now that the recommendations have been published, the top priority must be to ensure the pilot scheme is rigorous and independently monitored."

He added: "It is deeply disappointing that the Government have not yet come forward with any rules at all about how the pilot is to be judged, and what will constitute success or failure."

Downing Street said Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell will make a Commons statement on the panel's decision at 3.30pm.

http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37550 :rolleyes:

http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37550 :rolleyes:

 

My "headline" is better!!:P

how about I wave the Coldplaying magic wand and combine the two threads :)

you want to be careful where you're waving that magic wand, you'll have someone's eye out!!

you want to be careful where you're waving that magic wand, you'll have someone's eye out!!

 

Is there a busybee "burns night", by the way??:rolleyes:

It's so magic its invisible ;)

More details on the casino have emerged - there will be 1250 Fruit machines, blackjack and poker at the new Casino in Manchester. Crap games will however continue to be played at the City of Manchester stadium next door.

 

:rolleyes:

Only 1250 fruit machines???

 

That's a bit low ain't it.