Back in the 1990’s it was trendy to be English. In music we had Britpop and artists such as Blur, Oasis and the Spice Girls meant that we were the centre of a cool new generation, the likes of which this country had not experienced since the hedonist days of the Beatles! Britain had a newfound optimism, we were a country on the rise, after all, we were cool Britannia!
At the time of our social and financial boom, the Tony Blair led government announced plans to allow ‘Super Casinos’. These Las Vegas inspired venues that would be built in many places in the UK would allow both locals and visitors to enjoy Nevada style gaming in major UK cities and towns. However, Gordon Brown who would become Tony Blair’s successor was not so keen on the idea and as soon as he became the new leader of the Labour party, he promised a review of the Super Casino plan.
The government plan initially stated up to 40 Super Casinos would be built. This was then revised to 8 and then finally to just 1 that would be built in Manchester. However, in 2008, due to extreme public complaints this was also scrapped and the government decided to drop the plans for Super Casinos altogether.
Was This the End of the Mega Casinos Idea?
Well strangely no! Although the government plan was dropped, large casinos did indeed start getting built. Last year, a large casino in England’s second city, Birmingham opened its doors to a 2000 capacity, £150 million development. The Resorts World Birmingham is simply huge! it boasts 18 bars and restaurants as well as housing 50 retail shops. If this isn’t enough, there is also an 11-screen Imax cinema as well as a spa and a hotel on site.
The 2005 Gambling Act did allow for large casinos to be built and this was separate from the Super Casinos plan from the Labour Party. So whilst the Labour plan was scrapped, private companies could still apply and it was the jurisdiction of the local authority rather than central government to accept or deny a request for a new casino. So although it may not have been in the main news, things were changing.
Licenses were awarded for 16 casinos, 8 of them large casinos and 8 of the smaller type. Out of the eight being awarded, so far only three have opened their doors to customers. Aspers opened in 2011 at Westfield Stratford City in Newham London. Aspers also opened another in Milton Keynes in 2013 (Casino MK) and the one previously mentioned in Birmingham, Genting’s resort.
One of the biggest concerns regarding local authorities licensing new casinos is the chance of the local authority becoming reliant on this source of income. It is alleged that the Milton Keynes council received £1 million up front for permission to build and receives an annual amount of nearly £700,000 to keep the casino open. Is this bad news for the local area or an innovative way to raise money for cash starved councils? Only time will tell.
NetEnt are renowned for their top-notch graphics and innovative features, and this latest release lives up to their usual high standards. The video slot is visually stunning, with bright colours and sharp, detailed graphics. The game has 5 reels, 20 fixed paylines and is jam packed full of exciting features. For starters, the Red Riding Hood symbol is wild. When 2 or more of these appear on the reels, they act as sticky wilds and award a free sticky wild re-spin. There are three random features; fairy magic spin, fairy surprise and fairy wild spin that can be triggered at any time. What’s more, there are a further 3 bonus features. Line up 3 bonus chests and take your pick to reveal which bonus feature you are awarded. These include free spins, coin wins and the board game style Beware the Wolf bonus round. 
With stunning 3D animations and beautiful graphics, Microgaming’s new slot is a real treat for the eyes. The game has 243 ways to win and includes traditional features, such as wilds, scatters and multipliers. There are also a variety of unique features, the likes of which have never been seen before in an online slot. There are 4 different free spin rounds, one for each of the Dragon characters. Each boasts its own special feature. Flint can fire an increasing number of flaming wilds onto the reels. Switch stores non-winning wilds, which are randomly distributed across the reels to provide guaranteed wins. Frost freezes non-winning wilds in place until they create a win. Finally, Gobble can randomly spit winning wilds onto the reels. Once free spins are triggered, one of the four features is randomly awarded. On the 12th trigger of the free spins, you can choose which of the special features you wish to play with.
NextGen Gaming have created numerous slots based on 
What would be your idea of an ideal day? If you had time to yourself and no plans on the horizon, what would you do? For me there is no doubt that it would centre around online casinos. Maybe I would start with a few spins on the roulette table at one of my favourite casinos. Then I would move over to the live blackjack tables and go head to head with the dealer. Next up, I would hit the slots and immerse myself in the excitement and anticipation that the games bring with them. Now I know that wouldn’t appeal to everyone, but for those of you who think “yeah, that sounds like a pretty good day to me”, then I know you will find my new blog right up your street.