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LONDON HIPPODROME
CI: You’re a very short distance from the
Empire, which can only be a good thing really –
visitors will associate this corner of London with
the modern casino experience.
ST: Yes, it’s called clustering. Where you get a group
of the similar type of products in close proximity, the
combined attraction actually leads to a larger income
for all of them than any one would have had on their
own, so it will help us both.
CI: What’s the ‘something different’ that you’re
going to be offering customers, then?
ST: Our whole feel and experience will be different,
we will offer a theatrical experience in a stunning
building. In terms of casino product, we can all only
offer the same games, same electronics, same tables,
but in terms of that customer experience, we will be
completely different. The Empire is a perfectly good
casino, in fact it’s currently in a league of its own
against the majority of casinos in the area for our
type of market, hence why it’s doing, I understand,
18,000 admissions a week. But it’s still basement and
sub-basement and still primarily gaming led. We’ll
floor, a lot of the plasterwork features will be have a different feel, far more of the international
renovated. Plus the outside is being completely casino style feel with the gaming in a number of
renovated and cleaned and is already looking good, areas, the main one being in the original theatre with
even the Centurions on the roof have been a 50ft atrium above it topped by a minstrels gallery,
reinstated. Clearly it will be a bit more contemporary plus a high class restaurant, excellent bars and the
and all the floor levels will be totally flat for ease of very large dedicated cabaret area for over 160 people
access and operation, but a lot of the character will and substantial entertainment areas.
be returned. It’s interesting to note that 4% of English people
have been to casinos in England but 16% have been
CI: Working in a Heritage listed building, has to casinos abroad. And obviously some of that is
that added significantly to your development people going when they’re on holiday, but a big
costs? chunk of that is because people don’t want to go just
ST: Of course, both the Heritage situation and also to a gaming-led casino, they want a whole evening’s
absolutely being bang in the middle of London. entertainment under one roof and that’s what we can
Everything we do is expensive, but the quid pro quo give them.
of that is we have a large, iconic building in the
centre of London; we have a quarter of a million CI: What’s going to be the capacity when it’s
people past our doors every single day and 39 Million finished?
people using the tube station underneath us every ST: Somewhere around eight hundred and a
year and that has a real value. If we were in an thousand. We expect to get between 1500 and 2000
industrial estate thirty miles out of London, it would people a day through the doors.
be far less problematic and less expensive – but we
wouldn’t be in such a great location. CI: The foot traffic outside is incredible; it
really is a prime location.
CI: There’s a lot of competition for the ’casino ST: It is said to be one of the busiest places in the
pound’ in London… busiest entertainment district in Europe. To our
ST: There is competition for every pound in immediate East, we have the whole of theatre district
people’s pockets, but I think it’s to the detriment of and Covent Garden. To our West we have the West
an industry if they [competing casinos] don’t actually End, and above us we have Chinatown. So we’re well
welcome and embrace new competition, with the located in the middle of some great areas, hence why
innovation, change, challenge, because we’re not just Leicester Square is so busy. Additionally Leicester
competing against other casinos, we’re competing Square is the second most popular tourist attraction
against the whole leisure industry – we’re competing in the country. It’s one of those ’must visit’ places in
against all the traditional venues but also the internet the same way people go to Times Square in New York.
and people drinking beer and watching Sky TV at So there’s also a large volume of tourists coming
home. We want, from a casino industry, people to through, most of whom wouldn’t use English casinos
come out and spend money with us and all because they’re so different from what they’re used
innovation and competition should be welcomed. to, but are far more likely to visit us.
42 OCTOBER 2009
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