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LONDON HIPPODROME
understood what we were doing, realised it was
something different again to the Empire, particularly
with the live entertainment, so agreed we were
bringing something completely new to London.
CI: So it’s taken five years to get to this stage;
when are you looking to open the doors?
ST: We have extensive renovation and
refurbishment to do to make the Hippodrome the
Casino we want it to be and we will open in the
middle of 2011.
CI: Is your organisation still the six people that
came together in 2004?
ST: No, the Project is now owned just by me and
my father. At the beginning of this year we negotiated
and bought the other four out. Two of them were
involved in property and, I think, probably had better
uses for their money at the time. The other two
decided that it was better for them to focus on their
core businesses. We having sold our business, wanted
to devote ourselves to this project, hence the buy out.
CI: Is the Hippodrome a listed building?
favour of more socially balanced activities, ST: Yes, it’s Grade Two listed.
particularly less intensive leisure uses, so they were
supportive from the start. CI: That’s great – but it brings its own
The heritage of the building, obviously, was an problems, because any changes have to be passed
important part of our planning; the downside of the by the Heritage people, right?
heritage is it’s expensive to get it back to the state it ST: You’re absolutely right, but in this case it is not
should be in, but we actually wanted to use the really a problem, we are in accord with them in
heritage and to put in a lot of the features that had wanting to reinstate many of the beautiful features
been ripped out over the years and reinstate the that are part of the Heritage of the building, so share
building to the original 1900 splendour. the same aims as it will all add to the spendour and
In terms of the licence, we applied in 2007, we were character of the Hippodrome Casino. This will further
heard in summer 2007, just as the Empire was help differentiate us from the competition as
opening and this unfortunately completely torpedoed conversely many of the mass market London casinos
our market research. We got to the licence hearing have far less character, they are primarily gaming
and they said “Well your market research is fine but rooms. And that’s no criticism, they mainly grew up in
there’s been a big change since then - a large casino’s the 1970s when you weren’t allowed to do an awful lot
come on stream, how can you show there’s still unmet of what you’re allowed to do now. So the optimal
demand?” And we obviously tried everything we model at that time was a relatively small basement or
could but were turned down. The very effective first floor space. You didn’t need anything high profile,
objection teams of Gala, Rank and London Clubs you couldn’t advertise anyway. You did not need
performed very well. anything big or grand as you were limited with what
The second times round, in October 2008, we you could put in. And they could not justify the scale,
obviously not only were a little bit better prepared but splendour and grandeur of our type of building.
also the Empire had opened and was demonstrating
demand for casinos able to utilise most of the new CI: What architectural features are you keeping,
regulations. The Empire was by far the largest casino or re-instating?
in London and probably the only other one with ST: Lots! We’re reinstating the minstrel’s gallery in
sufficient space. And it really proved our point, the centre of the atrium, where midgets used to jump
showing that the style of casino we were intending to from into the water tank in the basement. We’re
operate with bars, restaurants, cabaret, poker rooms, putting back all of the plasterwork friezes and gilding
big footprint, high profile location had a completely on the top levels. We’re putting the ‘gods’ back to
different, and much greater, appeal to the smaller, look as it would have done at the time it first opened
traditional gaming-led venues. The Empire at the time and stage dressed. The proscenium arch, obviously, is
was already doing around 14,000 admissions a week, being reinstated to its former majesty, we will have
triple anything else in London and had just switched the stage underneath it, slightly further forward than
to 24-hour opening and no membership, all of which it would have been traditionally and on the first floor
were very strong signs of demand. The judge in our level, and we’re adding in a new set of VIP boxes that
licence appeal obviously took that into account, plus wouldn’t have been there originally. On the ground
40 OCTOBER 2009
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