Operator News
UK – Aspers MK Casino readies for September debut
By Lewis - 22 July 2013
Construction of the largest casino in the UK outside London, The Casino Milton Keynes, will be completed in August – for an official opening of September 5. The 39,000 square foot state-of-the-art building will have a sports bar, a restaurant to cater for 40 people, and a host of equipment including roulette tables, slot machines and 15 poker tables, each of which will seat 10 people. The £15m casino is being built by contractors Phelan and will create around 250 new jobs for local people.
Casino Milton Keynes is the first large licence to be constructed outside of London and is only the second large licence to open in the UK (the first is Aspers Casino Westfield in Stratford City, London). Nigel Hartland, the new General Manager of the The Casino Milton Keynes commented: “We are trying to promote it not just as a casino, but as a good leisure venue. We expect a footfall of around about 1,500 people a day, but of them we expect 30-45 per cent won’t actually gamble on the premises. We want to market the restaurant as a good place to come and eat, we’ll be sourcing our meat from a local butchers and bread from a local bakers. We just want everyone who comes, whether they are gambling or not, to have a good time.”
Austin Graham, operations director of the Aspers Group, confirmed that the building work would be completed by August 5, giving the team a month to purchase and install the gaming equipment.
