Casino revamp on the cards to widen appeal

A £1.5 million revamp of a Black Country casino will feature a new banqueting area, bar, card rooms and a perfomance stage, bosses revealed today.

Grosvenor Casino in Bentley Mill Way, Walsall, will also be rebranded as a G Casino - one of just 10 in the country.

The new-look casinos are designed to be more attractive to the general public for non-gaming use as well as gambling, with investment being ploughed into the restaurant and bar. Fifteen new jobs will be created as a result of the move.

Amy Culora, spokeswoman for Rank Group Plc, which owns the Walsall casino, said: "It is at a very early stage at the moment, we should be in a position to make a full announcement about the Walsall site in around four weeks time.

"The G Casinos are as focused on non-gaming as they are on gaming, it is about re-positioning casinos to make them more accessible."

The work will feature a new reception area, cloakroom, bar and creation of a raised stage area.

Other new features will be banquet seating in the restaurant, a new card room, poker desk and relocation of the cashiers desk.

An application to vary the premises licence has now been submitted to Walsall Council for approval ahead of the work at the site close to Junction 10 of the M6 which regularly hosts national poker tournaments.

Rank has opened 10 G Casinos in the country including one at Coventry's Ricoh Stadium. The company recently announced earlier this month how it wants to open a new casino in Oldbury creating 120 jobs.

The new venue will go off the Birchley Island, opposite Toys R Us, as part of its £50 million expansion nationwide. It is also aiming to open a new casino in Birmingham at a mystery location.

The new casino in Oldbury could be open as early as 2012 if approved, but first the company has to overcome a blanket ban on gambling venues in Sandwell.

Casinos were banned from opening in Sandwell in 2006 because councillors feared they might encourage gambling in an area of high deprivation.