Walsall casino gets big revamp

A casino in the Black Country is to get a new restaurant, gaming equipment and poker areas as part of a refurbishment that will create new jobs.

Bosses at Walsall's Grosvenor Casino today said construction work will start before the end of the year before the venue is relaunched under the new name of G Casino. It is also believed the project will include a new live entertainment area and lounge for screening sporting events on plasma screen TVs.

The expansion is part of owner Rank Group's £50million nationwide project to open new casinos and expand existing branches.

The exact cost of revamping the Walsall site has not yet been announced.

Rank Group spokeswoman Estelle Boon said the project would be similar to a £1.2m refurbishment at Birmingham's Grosvenor Casino in Broad Street that created 20 new jobs.

Rank is also planning to open a new casino in Oldbury, creating 120 new jobs, 80 of which will be full-time.

Miss Boon said contracts on construction work at the Walsall site had been signed and work was poised to begin.

"Workers will be going in before the end of this year before the relaunch early in the new year," she said.

Birmingham's Grosvenor Casino will reopen as a G Casino before the end of this year. Rank Group said its brand of G Casinos is designed to give people an alternative night out and shake off the stereotypes associated with casinos.

By Elizabeth Joyce