A casino located in England’s answer to Las Vegas has been on the receiving end of a major renovation expected to cost nearly £1 million.
The Grosvenor Casino in Blackpool will be relaunched on April 30, with patrons able to enjoy an array of changes to see in the 2022 summer season in the town.
Punters can now indulge in dozens of slot games, blackjack and both traditional and electronic roulette. There’s three-card poker tables too, and the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour – which features more than £1.6 million in prize money – regularly stops by.
There will a new menu of dining options too, including a revamped bar and grill called The Upper Deck. The emphasis here is on locally-sourced produce, which will make a nice change from the town’s chain pub and fast food eateries.
The project, which cost more than £850,000, has created 13 new jobs at the venue, and Nik MacFadden – the general manager of the casino – believes the overhaul has come at just the right moment.
“It’s been a challenging time for the everyone involved in the Blackpool hospitality industry,” he confirmed.
“But with good times now back on the cards, we’re excited to finally reveal our plans to create a fantastic dining and entertainment destination, which can help kickstart the sector’s recovery and create a brilliant night out for friends and family.”
Grosvenor are doubling down on their bricks-and-mortar casinos, and have revealed that their Bristol venue will also benefit from a £500,000 refurbishment of its gaming tables and hospitality area, with seven new jobs created in the city.
Golden Opportunity
Another reason why Grosvenor Blackpool’s revamp is timely is that, if the local MP has his way, plenty more competition will be heading to the town in due course.
Scott Benton wants extended licensing opportunities to form part of the government’s review of the Gambling Act, the results of which are expected to be published soon.
The MP for Blackpool South wants his constituency to become the UK’s premier gambling destination, and has called upon his fellow ministers to allow more large casino licences to be handed out.
“The current gambling review provides a golden opportunity to review the legislation governing casinos and to bring that into the modern age, allowing for sports betting, electronic payments and reviewing the current machine-to-table ratio, will all help to create new jobs, investment and additional tax receipts for the Exchequer,” Benton said in a Houses of Parliament exchange.
And he continued by campaigning directly to the culture minister Chris Philp, asking him:
“Will the minister commit to examining the case for these changes, as well as for allowing for additional large casinos in locations such as Blackpool as part of the current review?”
Philp responded by confirming that a review of the casino landscape in the UK was one of the matters being discussed by ministers involved in the regulatory overhaul.