It may have slipped under many people’s radar with the continuing row over the supercasinos but the Midlands city of Coventry is now the official home to Britain’s biggest casino.
The new casino which is housed in the Ricoh Arena is twice the size of the previous biggest gaming establishment - the Empire Club in London.
The £40m venue covers 100,000sq.ft and is housed beneath the football ground. It has five bars, including a 25-screen sports bar named after Coventry City’s 1987 FA Cup success, a stage for live performance, three bars and a huge indoor waterfall.
As well as roulette, blackjack and craps, there is a dedicated 12-table poker room hosting tournaments four times a week and training tables for novices.
So, Coventry is famous for something at last! Now that may seem a little bit harsh. A little research brought up some interesting facts about the second biggest city in the Midlands with Britain’s biggest casino.
Coventry was the first place in England to be officially ‘twinned’ with another city and is now twinned to over 20 places around the world. The first major link up was with Dresden who, like Coventry, suffered massive damage form World War II.
The war was responsible for the destruction of the Cathedral but having been largely rebuilt, the city can boast one of the most spectacular modern cathedrals in the world and is now the most popular tourist attraction in the region (before the casino!).
Lady Godiva is perhaps the most recognised symbol of Coventry. From the Velvet Underground to Dad’s Army, the famous nude has been referenced in popular culture for riding through Coventry on horseback to protest about high taxes.
Famous people born in Coventry include the poet Philip Larkin (was he perhaps referring to the new casino in his poem Vers de Société? – “My wife and I have asked a crowd of craps, To come and waste their time and ours: perhaps”), the pop group The Specials (OK, nothing related to gambling but the first album I ever bought was from the Coventry ska band) and Frank Whittle the inventor of the jet engine.
If the government does backtrack on their supercasino proposal then Coventry may long be the home of Britain’s biggest casino.
