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Manchester wins bid for megacasino

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LONDON, England -- The northern England city of Manchester is the surprise choice as the site for Europe's first Las Vegas-style supercasino, it was announced Tuesday.

The city beat out prime contenders London and English seaside resort Blackpool to win the lucrative bid, the UK's Casino Advisory Panel announced.

Companies will soon begin vying for operating licenses to the supercasino and 16 smaller casinos that were also announced.

Overseas investors such as Malaysia's Genting , Bahamas-based Kerzner and U.S-based MGM Mirage are expected to play a major role, according to the Reuters news agency.

Most analysts had predicted that Blackpool, which is badly in need of regeneration or the Millennium Dome, a beleaguered structure in east London, would be chosen.

Steve Weaver, chief executive of Blackpool Council, said the resort was "surprised and hugely disappointed" by the decision, according to the UK's Press Association.

Casino Advisory Panel chair Professor Stephen Crow said Manchester offered the greatest promise as Britain's gambling Mecca, PA reported.

"We found that the proposal had a unique formula to offer which served to set it apart from the others presented to us in terms of the full range of our specific remitted criteria of best test of social impact, regeneration need and benefits and willingness to license," he said.

Macnester's bid organizers said it would regenerate a poor area of the city and would create 2,700 direct and indirect jobs, according to PA.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour government had envisaged a broader casino program after recent liberalization of Britain's gambling legislation, but pressure from the opposition Conservative Party and anti-gambling groups saw this scaled down.

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