A NEW multi-million pound casino could open on Blackpool's Golden Mile by summer 2007.
Coral Island is planning to convert the former Palace nightclub into a three-storey gaming venue which would also include a restaurant and a show bar.
Called the Coral Island Casino, it would boast a pirate theme and act as a complementary attractio
n to the company's existing Coral Island amusement centre.
David Biesterfield, group development director for the Noble Organisation, which owns Coral Island, said: "This will be the best casino in Blackpool.
"It will have a variety of table games and slot machines and a mix of automated and traditional gaming.
"There will also be a good-sized restaurant and a show bar. It will run in conjunction with Coral Island which, apart from the Pleasure Beach, is Blackpool's single biggest attraction."
Mr Biesterfield, who was unable to put a figure on the investment but said it would be worth millions, added that he believed the casino would complement the resort's bid for the UK's first regional casino licence.
The proposed site, within the Palatine Buildings between Bank Hey Street and the Promenade, is on the edge of the Central Station site earmarked by planners as Blackpool's new conference and leisure quarter.
Mr Biesterfield said: "None of us will know for any significant time whether or not Blackpool has won its bid for a regional casino, whereas this is a firm development.
"It is a major refurbishment and redevelopment proposal."
In 2004, Blackpool Council refused two planning applications by the Noble Organisation to convert Coral Island and Funland into casinos because the development was seen as harmful to the resort's long-term hopes for mega-sized regional casinos.
The only other casino licence for premises on the Golden Mile is one granted to London Clubs International for the Oasis amusement arcade which is owned by Leisure Parcs. But it has never come into operation.
The Noble Group is in the process of applying for its casino licence under existing legislation.
If all the necessary consents are in place, it hopes to start work on the project as early as the end of this year with an aim of opening the venue in time for the 2007 season.
Blackpool will find out in 2007 if its bid for a regional casino has been successful.
shelagh.parkinson@blackpoolgazette.co.uk
