Manchester to host UK's first supercasino

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) The northern city of Manchester unexpectedly won the fight to host Britain's first Las Vegas-style supercasino today, beating off challengers including nearby Blackpool and London's Millennium Dome.

Most industry analysts had predicted either Blackpool, the Dome or Glasgow in Scotland would win.

Companies will soon start bidding to develop and operate that casino, and 16 smaller venues, with investors such as Malaysia's Genting, Bahamas-based Kerzner and US-based MGM Mirage seen playing a major role.

''Manchester represents a good place to test social impact,'' said Stephen Crow, who chaired the deciding panel. He emphasised the importance of the casino fuelling regeneration.

''Manchester... is an area in need of regeneration at least as much as any of the others we observed,'' he added.

The Manchester supercasino will be allowed 1,250 slot machines, while licences for eight large casinos with 150 machines each were awarded to Great Yarmouth, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, Solihull and Southampton.

Prime Minister Tony Blair originally envisaged 20 to 40 giant casinos for Britain, bringing thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of overseas investment.

But under sustained pressure last year from anti-addiction campaigners and the opposition Conservative Party, that number was cut back to eight and finally to just one.

Licences for eight small casinos, with 80 gaming machines each, went to Bath, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton.

REUTERS SSC BD1723