Hippodrome delay…still waiting.

THE London Hippodrome £30 million transformation into a casino is still keeping the gaming world waiting and hasn’t moved forward in its extravagant plan of action. Back in August 2011, we reported that the owner, Simon Thomas, had announced that the old theatre venue would make its grand opening in mid 2011.

The vision was and still is (as far as we are aware) that the casino would stand out on Leicester Square and fight away its opposition. We also previously reported that Gala Casinos were eyeing up the site to transform it into a casino. Simon Thomas, chairman of United Leisure Gaming reportedly objected and called the plans “hypocritical.”

However, Media Corp have shed a little light on Hippodrome’s plan to develop their casino image.

It has been recently announced by Media Corp that due to delays in the opening of the Hippodrome Casino, the launch date for the online Joint Venture has been delayed and is now expected to be in early summer as and when the Hippodrome Casino formally opens rather than 1 April 2012, as had previously been envisaged.

Sara Vincent, CEO, commented in a press release for Media Corp:

 “The sale of onthebox.com and forexspace.com further reduces the loss making assets in our online publishing business whilst boosting our cash position. Eyeconomy continues to trade well and we look forward to provide a full update on it together with Purple Lounge in the publication of our interim results which we hope to be by early June. The board is working hard on the organic growth of the Group’s various divisions and has made good progress towards realising a synergistic acquisition and looks forward to provide further updates as and when appropriate.”

The Hippodrome Casino gave us an insight into their latest developments…

What are the latest developments with plans to transform the theatre into the Hippodrome Casino?

 The Hippodrome Casino is scheduled to open in June 2012 after a two and a half year refurbishment of the Grade 2 listed Hippodrome theatre building and adjacent Cranbourn Mansions.

We have injected £40 million in a massive renovation project in the middle of a recession and created upwards of 450 new jobs providing London with a world class casino facility.

 In terms of the three gaming floors at the Hippodrome Casino we will have:

 ·  A basement that targets the more transactional customers with games such as baccarat and roulette plus a rig of organic G4 terminals with large plasma screens to inject an element of showmanship that is often lacking in electronic gaming.

 · The ground floor will be more international with a large number of tables in the main theatre atrium in a stunning setting; while under the stage area it will be a touch more discreet.

 ·  Above, on the level of the smoking terrace, we will cater to those looking for a higher minimum stake. And of course there will be gaming on the two-tier smoking terrace itself.

But of course, as the UK’s first truly international-style casino there will be much more to the Hippodrome than gaming. We will also have five bars, a 150 cover restaurant, four private dining rooms and a 200-seat cabaret and entertainment space.

 Many parts of the building are now at the decoration and fitting-out stage. All the bars, furniture and a lot of the fittings are made off site so everything is ready to come in. Lots of things are happening very, very quickly. We have 220 men on site so there’s a lot of man hours going in to this huge building and progress is rapid. The outside of the building is currently scaffolded because we are finishing off all the window decoration and the external lighting scheme.

 Why has there been a delay in the opening? As this was meant to open mid-2011 as far as we are aware.

 We are in the privileged position of being able to open when we decide we are ready to open, and not a minute before.

 We had an ambitious programme from the start, which grew enormously when we were able to incorporate an additional building adjacent to the Hippodrome site, Cranbourn Mansions. That inevitably meant extra time was needed, and we are delighted with our decision because it has increased the range of facilities we now have to offer our customers.

We are on the busiest street corner in whole of the country in an iconic building known by 60% of Londoners already. We hope to open in June, but if we take a few extra days, then so be it. You only have one opportunity to get something as ambitious as this absolutely right. And we are determined to do exactly that.