Leading article: Location, location, location

Published: 31 January 2007

Like two unlucky punters watching dismayed as their "dead cert" nags are overtaken in the last furlong by an unfancied 16-to-1 shot, Greenwich and Blackpool had to concede victory to Manchester in the race for Britain's first "supercasino". This was no game of chance: the official body charged with selecting a site for the new development, the Casino Advisory Panel, has been embroiled in a laborious, delicate and controversial process. Politics supervened more than once. Some may wonder, for example, whether the row about the Deputy Prime Minister's dealings with Philip Anschutz, the tycoon behind the Greenwich scheme, effectively finished that bid's chances of success, if only so that the eventual choice might be free of any whiff of corruption.

In any case, it was just as well. East London is already enjoying a good deal of redevelopment thanks to the thriving engine of growth at Canary Wharf and the huge regeneration effort for the 2012 Olympics. The former Millennium Dome, it must be conceded, might well have made an excellent site for a grand Las Vegas style gambling factory. It was certainly large and famous enough - but the point is that there are other much more deserving places. It is not immediately obvious, however, why Manchester is one of them.

This outcome must be especially galling for Blackpool: instead of the fun-loving citizens of Britain heading west to the seaside for cheap thrills, they will instead be packing into in an already booming Manchester.

It makes little sense: the case for Blackpool was overwhelming. Its tourist industry has recently suffered an accelerated decline. A supercasino obviously suits the town's ambience; it would soon nestle in as yet another of its many attractions. Like Las Vegas, Blackpool would be more than just a casino: the gambling industry, while substantial, need not have dominated the resort, nor monopolised the time of those who visited the casino. Blackpool, moreover, has plenty of spare capacity in its hotels and legendary bed and breakfasts, especially in the off season. If anything, planting a casino in Manchester as a competing regional attraction will make Blackpool's problems even worse rather than better.

It was bad mistake. If the authorities wish to recoup anything from this they should use their influence to ensure that the new super casino (and the other smaller establishments) adhere to strict age rules, ban drunkenness on the premises and discourage the use of "loss leaders" such as cheap accommodation, food and drink to entice gamblers to the gambling tables. But the fact remains: the supercasino should have gone to Blackpool.