News that Manchester won the super casino bid seemed to take 
everyone by surprise. How did it remain such a closely guarded secret? News presenters were this morning debating whether it would be Blackpool or the Millennium Dome. Glad I didn’t bet on either of those!
Other casino licences have been granted too, including a large licence for Great Yarmouth, which I’m sure will be good news for this Norfolk seaside town struggling to attract tourists. And more super casinos could follow as ministers believe they will quickly be able to relax the restrictions, something that needs to be watched closely.
The Dome was really out of the question following John Precott’s association with the Dome’s owner Philip Anschutz, that was no surprise. Manchester can now look forward to much needed regeneration in the site’s location and has welcomed the chance to add a touch of Las Vegas to its city.
I have visited casinos in Reno, Nevada where gambling is obviously big business, I remember the heated sidewalks, the free food and booze, the crashing sound of coins making massive payouts, it was a great holiday experience. However, I have just heard that free booze will not be on offer at Machester’s super casino to prevent gamblers getting carried away.
But while I can take it or leave it, there is a danger that it could lead to increased addiction which we need to be aware of.
So do you think Manchester was the right choice? Are we set to become a nation of gambling addicts? I don’t think so, and I’m delighted for Manchester.
set to become a nation of gambling addicts?
We already are Ellee and I do not like it . It is absolutely typical of New labour that having screwed up the real economy they are covering it up with slash and burn measures like this.
In this country we spend £60bio pa on food and £53,bio on gambling the vast majority of which is from underprivileged homes who become addicted . Do they not care what they do to us.
Manchester will never be Las Vegas it will be the crime centre and god awful abyss it is now but with even worse problems for its many poor areas.
Theer is a very important difference between markets and gambling that I do not have the time to go into but it a crucial one . If you can seriously think of one good thing about this then I will have to listen but to me it is absolutely New Labour . Take a Slum add some lights defraud the working class and retire to America
Damn then , damn them all to hell …!!
A terrible blow to Blackpool – a real shame. Guess this is Mancherster’s ‘reward’ for swinging back to Labour at the council elections?
Ellee, I really can’t agree. There was no open bidding process going on at all. The whole thing has been quietly fixed up by government ministers and the supere casinos. These new venues will only serve to fuel the UK’s gambling addiction as Newmania has pointed out.The most vulnerable will suffer. Labour knows this but doesn’t care.The fact is Labour needs money. Lots of it. I am sure they are waiting for a donation or two from the casino barons….Tell me I’m wrong.
IT, I think the governemnt should monitor closely what happens in Manchester to ensure it is well run before agreeing to further super-casinos, a full assessment of gambling addiction and crime needs to be carried out.
I’ve never been to Vegas, but it always strikes me as a soulless place, where the only real ‘industries’ are those designed to divest people of their winnings- a world where they constant flow of cash is the only morality, a land where you can buy anything- and anyone- for a price.
I like Manchester- it is a place where I regularly spend my weekends as my closest friend lives there. I find it is a friendly, sociable place with real community spirit and a sense of fun. I wouldn’t like to see that ruined.
Myself, I only bet on elections and football.
Joe, I’ve only been to Manchester once to visit the MU football museum as a birthday treat for my son. I was struck by how friendly the people there were. Let’s hope this development will be good news for the city.
I feel really sorry for Blackpool, which is really run down now and could do with a shot in the arm. Not that I support gambling and, as someone said on the radio, it’s not really “new money” that these developments are based on, but the losses of the unfortunate. A tax on the stupid, it was said.
(Ellee, I haven’t been ignoring you, been down in Hants for a few days).
Sadly, I think it can only lead to more addictive gambling. We have seen what the National Lottery, as people throw able the little money they have each week.
My only real experience of casinos is the Gala in Birmingham- I have never gambled there
What surprised me was how full the place was in the middle of the day. The place as a whole, smelt of excess, the glitzy uniforms on the staff, free food, etc.
Either way, I found something a little chilling about the whole throwing-money-around atmosphere of the place. Obviously, it’s good at raising revenue for the government- but at what price?
Well, if anywhere had to have it, I guess I’m glad for Manchester. My Dad was a compulsive gambler and I know the misery this can cause a family. Yet I am not with those who say there should be no casinos at all, for, as my Dad would have been the first to admit, if you’re a gambler, you’ll find any excuse to bet, anywhere! If you join Gamblers’ Anonymous, which Dad did, you have to agree to do your best not to even buy a raffle ticket – for that is gambling in a way – and that is why I resent, to this day, people who try to force you to buy one. They are well-meaning but are not aware of what they may be doing to some people. Just as an alcoholic will always find a watering hole, so a gambler will always find a place to gamble. By the way, I accompanied my Dad to many casinos – posh London ones – and you never, ever, saw a clock. Nearly finished, Ellee… I just want to say that, like a lot of gamblers, my Dad was one of the kindest men you could have hoped to meet. And I’m sure his betting would have been on Manchester!
Welshcakes, I never noticed casinos don’t have clocks, let’s hope the Manchester one does if it is meant to be run differently. I appreciate your personal perspective on this, I think it’s true that addictive gamblers will always find a way to bet, but we have to remember it is a very tiny minority.