The Las Vegas of Lancashire

By Katharine MacColl

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A company is�proposing to turn Blackpool into the Las Vegas of Lancashire. It is bidding to invest around �1 billion in six casinos at the resort. The first, the Pharoah's Palace, with an Ancient Egyptian theme of pyramids, sphinxes and obelisks, could bring in an estimated 30 million visitors and �2 billion in revenue.

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But plans to turn the home of the Golden Mile, kiss-me-quick hats and fairground rides, into a mirror of The Strip, the three-mile section of the Vegas boulevard, won't be easy to push through.

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The law will have to be changed to allow unrestricted high-stakes gambling.�The company behind the plan, Leisure Parcs, wants the government to back the plan in exchange for a portion of the profits� being ploughed into other UK resorts.

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A similar scheme, set to be the model�for the Blackpool plan, has already been used in the USA's Atlantic City. This former unremarkable New Jersey state has been turned into a glamourous world of croupiers, roulette tables and tough security.

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On�a more social�side�though, money has been ploughed into helping the eldery and disabled in the state. But do we really want to turn our�quaint hotels into�a high rise hell just to appease gambling addicts desperate for the big win