Today's Front Page

Company was planning two major gaming houses there.

By MINDELL SMALL,Guardian Staff Reporter mindell@nasguard.com

With just several weeks until a national election, the British Government sided with conservatives and announced it would scrap eight of nine Las Vegas-style super casinos proposed by investors. Kerzner International was proposing two of the eight casinos to be ditched.

The announcement came as a blow to Kerzner executives, who were seeking approval for a £200 million (U.S. $375 million) entertainment and casino complex at London's Millennium Dome and a £162 million (U.S. $304 million) hotel and casino complex at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC).

The lone super casino likely to be approved, because of its location, is not one that would generate the most revenue for the U.K. It will be located in Blackpool, some 200 miles northwest of London. An independent panel will reportedly decide its exact location.

Kerzner International's chief marketing officer Howard Karawan was unavailable for comment Friday. However, a source at the company told The Guardian that executives were "very upset" about the news and were meeting to strategise alternative plans.

On a more positive note for the resort, The Guardian learned that Kerzner is currently developing a casino in Northampton, about 50 miles northwest of London, after receiving a Certificate of Consent for it from the U.K. Gaming Board on March 30, 2004.

Election worries

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour party reportedly conceded to blocking the eight casinos to ensure the Gambling Bill, which would overhaul the country's outdated gaming legislation, becomes law before Parliament is dissolved next week ahead of the May 5 national elections.

The government's announcement was seen as good news for many British people concerned about an increase in gambling addicts in that country.

British Daily Telegraph said antigambling campaigners welcomed the expected cutback. Jonathan Lomax, public affairs officer for the Salvation Army, was quoted as saying, "The closer you live to hard forms of gambling the more likely you are to become addicted so the Glasgow authorities should think hard before applying for the one regional casino licence."

The Glasgow Evening Times reported Thursday that the scrapping of the eight casinos caused some concern for city developers, particularly in Glasgow where it was felt that a mega casino would significantly improve Scottish tourism.

It said proposals for major regeneration schemes in Ibrox, at the SECC and Glasgow Harbour were hanging in the balance after the government's announcement. Three of the eight cancelled casinos had been scheduled for Glasgow.

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dr Lesley Sawyers was quoted as saying, "This is a blow to the development of Glasgow as a tourist centre. Super casinos have the potential to bring a lot of visitors and income to the city, as well as thousands of jobs. Even if the initial licence goes to Blackpool, it is vital Scotland continues to pursue any possibility of future licences which might become available."

Ruln by Gala, Scotland's largest casino, opened in Glassford Street in the Merchant City last September.

Among the companies in the U.K. casino licence bid are the Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage, which unveiled plans to open a super-size casino in Glasgow, on a five million-sq-foot site at Glasgow Harbour.

In March 2004, rivals Las Vegas Sands, announced proposals to build a giant casino next to Ibrox as part of a deal backed by Rangers.

In July 2004, Kerzner announced plans for a £162m casino and hotel complex near the SECC.

Other mega casinos have been planned at the Odeon building in Renfield Street, Springfield Quay, and the TruffIe Club in Drury Street.

Better luck in Singapore

Kerzner had better luck in Singapore when CapitaLand, a Singapore-based company teamed up with it in January to get proposals for the construction of a casino resort in that Southeast Asian country.

CapitaLand also linked with MGM Mirage for the construction of a similar resort to be located a few miles from the Kerzner-proposed property. The Kerzner proposal includes a resort project on Sentosa Island while MGM is proposing a resort project on Marina Bay.