Wrong Choice?
It may still claim to be the most popular seaside resort in Europe - but Blackpool and the Pepsi Max Big One rollercoaster at the pleasure beach are only heading one way at the moment.
With visitor numbers dwindling - down seven million in the last 15 years to an average 10 million a year - the decision to give the supercasino to Manchester has hit licensees and other businesses in the town like a kick in the teeth.
Now pubs, which were looking forward to a major new boost to the town and to their trade, are getting behind a campaign to urge Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell to reconsider.
A Commons motion supporting Blackpool's case has already attracted over 100 signatures from MPs.
Paul Howarth, retail operations director at Lancashire brewer and pub company Daniel Thwaites, has written to Jowell to express "surprise and regret" at the decision of the government-appointed casino advisory panel to recommend Manchester.
"The decision was not for the best interests of businesses in Blackpool," he says.
"If you look at the merits of both bids, the area of East Manchester where they want to build has already regenerated itself. Blackpool has been short on investment for a number of years, and the long-term prognosis without a casino is not good."
The reason for Thwaites' concern is self-evident: it has invested heavily in pubs in and around Blackpool in recent years, and Howarth says that the casino would have created hundreds of jobs to spearhead the town's regeneration. A regeneration which, to the regret of Thwaites and other pubs in the town, may now have been put into reverse.
A massive blow
Steve Norris, licensee of the Shovels in Blackpool, agrees, and says that the decision was a "massive blow" to the town.
"I've been here for 10 years now, and I've seen the demise of the south shore area. The supercasino would have set Blackpool off on a firm footing again.
"It might not have been quite like Las Vegas, but the area would have changed beyond recognition," he adds. "It would have improved business without a shadow of a doubt. It would have brought bigger and better hotels, eating facilities and pubs."
Norris admits that he cannot understand why Manchester was chosen ahead of Blackpool.
"There was no reason given, and no criteria outlined. We were 100 per cent behind Blackpool, and think the case we were putting forward offered a fantastic chance to kick the town up the backside," he says.
Joan Humble, Labour MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, tabled the Early Day Motion (EDM) to Parliament, and reaffirms the disappointment at the panel's announcement.
"There was a lot of anger, astonishment and dismay in Blackpool, and down in Westminster there was concern from MPs about the Culture Secretary's process," she explains.
Humble tabled the EDM in the hope that an expert group of members of both houses would look at the recommendations, and is hopeful that the decision will be reconsidered.
"There's everything to play for," she says confidently. "Rather than push it through quickly, an in-depth analysis is needed. The House of Commons is not a post-box for faceless bureaucrats to tell us how to vote."
So near, and yet so far
For Blackpool the problem isn't only that the supercasino has gone to another location - but the fact that that location, in East Manchester, is close enough to pull business away from Blackpool too.
Dave Daley, licensee of the Castle Hotel in Blackpool, and head of the National Association of Licensed House Managers, believes that around 50 per cent of the town's pub trade currently comes from the Haydock area - between Blackpool and Manchester - but predicts that half of these customers will now flock to Manchester.
Even licensees in Manchester are somewhat sceptical about the merits of the decision.
Gerard Ford at the Culcheth Gates in Newton Heath, Manchester - close to the proposed site of the new supercasino - agrees that East Manchester has been regenerated to a degree, but says that there are still social problems in "the poorest part of Manchester".
However he concedes that, overall, Blackpool is more in need of a shot in the arm. "I think Blackpool would have been better to be honest. It's a holiday resort lacking in investment. If the MP has asked them to reconsider, I agree with her," he says.
Supported by their MP and The Publican's Managed Pub Company of the Year 2006 Thwaites, Blackpool will feel there is still a chance of winning the licence despite the panel's recommendation, with Parliament set to discuss the matter in a few weeks' time.
Many feel that the town's long-term future hinges on the decision, with investment currently not forthcoming in the area. Having gambled on a casino to kick-start a regeneration programme, the town now faces a tense wait as the government moves closer to revealing its hand.
All their eggs in one basket?
The decision to favour Manchester may have evoked bafflement among both MPs and operators, but others are asking whether it was right for the town to pin all its hopes on a supercasino.
"We're a deprived area, and there's no doubt that Blackpool needs regenerating," admits Dave Daley, licensee of the Castle Hotel, Blackpool and head of the National Association of Licensed House Managers.
"But we needed something else. I think we put all our eggs in one basket, and we've ended up with egg on our face. We went down the wrong road and didn't pitch right. Having no plan B was the critical thing."
But Daley says the casino may have been the wrong choice for Blackpool anyway, as it would have taken business away from other publicans in the town, rather than adding to it.
"I think it would have had a cannibalising effect, with bars inside serving cheaper drinks, and taking business from all the other taverns not inside the casino."
