Twenty-seven local authorities will fight for the right to build the UK's first Las Vegas-style super casino. Only one of the 27 local councils will host the giant regional gambling setting. The super casino will be able to offer 1.250 gaming machines with unlimited jackpots and could boast an even larger floor space, than the mega-centres in the Nevada desert. The Casino Advisory Panel has spent the last few weeks examining the detailed bids of the neighbouring establishments.
Recent reports suggest that at least twelve places will be on the shortlist. Among the favorites are the Millennium Dome, Blackpool, Glasgow and Manchester. The councils that submitted proposals for a super casino were Blackpool, Cardiff, Chesterfield, Dudley, Greenwich, Havering, Ipswich, Leeds, Midlothian, Newcastle, Newport, Sheffield, Sunderland, Wakefield and many others.
In the meantime, forty-one other local authorities applied for one of the eight large and eight small casinos. Large venues will contain up to 150 machines offering jackpots of up to £4,000, while the smaller versions will permit only 80. Several groups warn a super casino will increase gambling addiction and some opposition groups have urged the government to pilot one regional casino so its regenerative and social impact could be evaluated.
