Supercasino Royale (From Penarth Times)

Supercasino Royale

PENARTHIANS who feel their luck is in may soon be able to hit the blackjack tables at a supercasino for Wales located opposite Penarth Marina.

Cardiff Council has made an official bid to bring a regional casino to the Welsh capital, which will support Cardiff as a core city for the 2012 Olympics.

The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is continuing with the building of an International Sports Village (ISV), and a regional casino is seen as vital by the council in assuring the project is completed in time to support the 2012 Olympics.

If the Government agrees to Cardiff as a site for a regional casino, Cardiff Council says it will bring forward early large scale investment into the 700 million ISV project, ensuring funding for the sporting facilities come quicker, so it will be delivered by 2010 to support both UK and visiting international athletes for the 2012 Olympics. The Council recently named UK/Australian organisation Aspers as the operator it wants to work with to develop the regional casino.

Cardiff council believes the development at the ISV meets all known criteria currently outlined by both Government and the Casino Advisory Panel (CAP) for a regional casino.

Cardiff Council leader Rodney Berman said that The Gambling Act, recently passed by Parliament, currently allows for only one regional casino but Cardiff Council, along with other local authorities, would be calling for this to change.

Cardiff Council has called for the Government to reconsider its current position and increase the number of regional casinos that may be licensed to enable an assessment of the benefits they can bring to key regeneration initiatives.

The International Sports Village project will include international 50 metre swimming pools, leisure pools, spas and health and fitness facilities, a state-of-the-art snow box, a 4,000 seat multi-purpose arena, an ice pad suitable for international competition, top class hotels, as well as a multi-purpose entertainment complex with an exciting variety of waterfront bars, and restaurants.