In July 2009, work began on Simon Thomas’ project to transform the London Hippodrome into a state-of-the-art casino and entertainment venue. Having started life as a circus and music hall before becoming one of the city’s most popular nightspots, the property has a wonderfully vibrant history. InterGaming’s Simon Liddle was invited to take a tour of the site ahead of its opening later this year
The Hippodrome, in its many guises, has been a staple of London nightlife since first opening in 1900. Located at the heart of the UK capital’s entertainment district off Leicester Square, the iconic building was first intended to combine a circus, a water spectacle – often featuring live animals - and a music hall. Over the next 50 years it staged performances from some of the world’s leading entertainers, theatre and dance companies, including the first performance in England of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake by the Russian Ballet in 1910.
In 1957, the Hippodrome changed hands and was completely refurbished by Charles Forte, who converted it into The Talk of the Town cabaret restaurant to showcase the talents of a new generation of performers from Frank Sinatra to Stevie Wonder, Shirley Bassey to Lulu. The appeal of this form of entertainment, however, ran its course and in 1983 the building was converted once again, this time into a disco by Peter Stringfellow. The property subsequently changed hands several times and was most recently used to house a variety show called La Clique, which relocated in 2009.
Simon Thomas, who sold his family’s successful Beacon Bingo business to a private equity firm in 2006, is aiming to transform the fortunes of the recently neglected Hippodrome. A multi-million pound redevelopment project will see it regain much of its old prestige, while also pushing the boundaries of British casino gaming. Taking a tour of the site, Thomas’ enthusiasm for the project quickly becomes obvious, and rightly so. Restoring the building to its past glories yet integrating the most state-of-the-art gaming and entertainment technologies is certainly no mean feat, but may offer unprecedented rewards.
The sale of Thomas’ bingo business, coming as it did a year before the smoking ban, along with the introduction of a new Gambling Act and the availability of the Hippodrome property, combined to pave the way for the highly ambitious project. Just as the new smoking regulations threatened to hit the bingo sector hard, the 2005 Gambling Act finally offered a new opportunity for the casino industry to embrace the future.
“Before the 1960s, the casino industry was out of control, hence the 1968 Gambling Act,” Thomas explains. “This prohibited alcohol on the floor, live entertainment, promotion and advertising and introduced the 48-hour membership rule.”
This feature can be read in full in the January 2012 issue of InterGaming.
