Super Casino Site To Be Named

The location of Britain's first "super casino" is to be announced later, with Blackpool and Greenwich the favourites.

Seven cities have been vying for the right to build a venue with a licence for up to 1,250 unlimited-jackpot gaming machines.

Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff, Sheffield and Manchester are also shortlisted, with the decision due at 11:00am.

Ministers say the Casino will boost regeneration, but opponents argue it will lead to more problem gambling.

The Greenwich bid, based on the former Millennium Dome, attracted criticism last year, after it emerged Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and some of his civil servants had stayed at owner Philip Anschutz's US ranch, and not declared the visit until 11 months later.

With a customer area of 5,000 square metres, the winning venue will include a hotel, conference facilities, restaurants, bars and live entertainment venue.

The independent Casino Advisory Panel, appointed by the government, was told to look at the possible effect on employment and social deprivation.

On Monday the Centre for Cities - part of the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank - said it backed Blackpool, rather than Greenwich's Millennium Dome.

But it said a casino could drain money away from local non-gambling businesses and lead to an increase in problem gambling.

Greenwich already stood to gain almost 8,000 jobs as a result of the 2012 Olympics and had a variety of other regeneration options, the report added.

Critics said there was a potential conflict of interest as Mr Prescott may have used his influence to try to get the Dome a casino licence, but the DPM insisted he had no say on the issue.

The government had originally planned for between 20 and 40 regional - or 'super' casinos, with the aim of encouraging regeneration in run-down seaside resorts.

But, in the face of Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition, the number was reduced to eight and then one, which will act as a "test" site.

The advisory panel will also announce the venues for eight 'large' and eight 'small' casinos elsewhere in Britain.

The large casinos will be a maximum 1,500 square metres and have up to 150 gaming machines with a jackpot of up to £4,000, with Bingo and betting permitted.

The small ones will half that size, with as many as 80 machines with a £4,000 jackpot and betting - but there will be no bingo.

The shortlist for the large and small casino locations is: Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Brighton, Canterbury, Chelmsford, Dartford, Dudley, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Great Yarmouth, Hastings, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Luton, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, North East Lincolnshire, Peterborough, Restormel, Scarborough, Sefton, Solihull, Southampton, South Tyneside, Swansea, Thurrock, Torbay and Wolverhampton.