Milton Keynes Council has informed the press of its expectations to announce the winner of its highly sought-after large casino license in early months of 2012. When it was announced, the opportunity to develop a large-scale “super casino” in Milton Keynes was met with a huge amount of interest from developers, and to date five serious applications have been put through to the second stages of the process. Located 50 miles north of London and with acres of unused land, Milton Keynes looks to be the ideal location for the UK’s second 24-hour casino, second only to the newly opened Aspers Casino in London.
Currently three completed sets of plans are being consider for the location, with Apollo Resorts seeking permission to build their proposed casino on the same site currently home to the Stadium MK. Aspers (who already have a number of casinos in London and the surrounding areas) are actively setting out plans for integrating their potential casino with the immensely popular Xscape indoor skiing centre. Grosvenor are of course in on the action too, and apparently seeking to make use of the Leisure Plaza location.
Each of the applicants have been asked to submit clarifying documents by the council with a deadline of 1st January 2012, fueling suspicions that the applications are likely to be reviewed quickly to be ready for the upcoming Olympic games. Philip Winsor, assistant director of regulatory services for the Milton Keynes council, told members of the press that February is not necessarily an “absolute and definitive deadline” and that “It’s about getting the best outcome for Milton Keynes”. He said whilst nothing is at this stage certain, a final decision can be expected by March at the latest.
