Leeds opens new large casino; Aspers doles out free bubbly

Leeds welcomed the world to the opening of its ‘large’ casino on Thursday, but it was a rival casino in London that was popping the champagne corks.

Thousands of looky-loos attended Thursday’s grand opening of Victoria Gate Casino, the £30m gaming venue operated by London-based Global Gaming Ventures (GGV). The casino is the third-largest in the country and the biggest in the north of England and Scotland.

Thursday’s proceedings got underway with an invitation-only affair featuring 1,200 VIPs that saw the ribbon-cutting ceremony and the first turn of the venue’s roulette wheels. At 9pm, the doors were opened to the throngs of great unwashed plebs who’d been queueing outside to take a peek inside the new gaming joint.

GGV CEO Andrew Herd called the opening “a pivotal moment” for the city, which can now boast of having a “stylish, buzzing entertainment hub in the heart of Leeds city center where everyone from first-time visitors and passers-by to top poker players are catered for.”