MANCHESTER WINS SUPER-CASINO RACE !

Manchester has been chosen as the surprise location of Britain's first Las Vegas-style super-casino.
The decision is a blow for Blackpool and London's former Millennium Dome, which were the bookmakers' favourites.
The licence will allow Manchester to build a venue for up to 1,250 unlimited-jackpot gaming machines.
Meanwhile, licences for "large" casinos were granted to Great Yarmouth, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, Solihull and Southampton.
The Casino Advisory Panel also granted licences for "small" casinos to Bath and North East Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton.
Manchester was a 16-1 outsider at the bookmakers to be selected as a test-bed for the UK's first regional "resort" casino.
'Regeneration'
There has been speculation that more super-casino licences might be awarded.
But the BBC understands that Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell will tell MPs later that there will definitely be no more granted during this Parliament.
Stephen Crow, chairman of the independent Casino Advisory Panel, said Manchester had been chosen because of its "very thorough consultation" with the local community and "the way it dealt with questions of problem gambling".

LARGE CASINOS

Great Yarmouth
Hull
Leeds
Middlesbrough
Milton Keynes
Newham
Solihull
Southampton

Q&A: What is a super-casino?

"Manchester has a catchment area for a casino second only to that of London, and it is an area in need of regeneration at least as much as any of the others we observed," he added.
Professor Crow told BBC News 24 the panel's decision was "watertight" if it came to a legal challenge from any losing bidder.
But the prime minister's official spokesman said: "Tessa Jowell has to make up her mind whether to accept the panel's decision and then it goes to the House to vote on."
Councillor Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "This is fantastic news for Manchester, and the region.

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