Delight In Manchester At Super 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. 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 at the Sportcity 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.