The corporate mission to be the best, not the biggest, should come in useful in the UK for casino company Isle of Capri. On May 31 the company announced it had Board approval for the refinancing of a significant portion of its indebtedness, and on 5 June it was given a 25 July deadline to file a delayed financial report or face delisting on the Nasdaq. The Isle of Capri casino at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, England is still scheduled to open early next month, but it will be a far cry from the original project.

The casino project in Coventry was part of the deregulation euphoria that hit Britain long before the final legislation took its toll. Planned as a regional casino, with space to match, the operation had planning permission, a casino licence and was under construction when most other similar projects around the country were just a twinkle in an operator’s eye. Unfortunately the Casino Advisory Panel did not give Coventry’s application extra points for being able to start social and economic impact studies at least two years ahead of its rivals, when it made its recommendation for the now unique super casino licence.

In retrospect everyone might wish that Coventry had been selected. If it had, the new casino legislation may now be proceeding with only prospective legal battles over monopoly status and unfair competition. As it is, all 17 licences are stalled for the foreseeable future. By all reports even the down-sized casino in Coventry looks far from being ready for a 7 July opening. The city’s newest casino operation is not even in the frame for a large or small casino licence and will have to open with a mere 20 slot machines. On the plus side is the fact that competition from bigger casinos is not imminent.

Isle of Capri remains optimistic, outwardly at least, and says that the complex is the largest of its kind in Britain and will be of an even higher standard than that found in the US. This seems to have as much to do with the magnificence of the rest rooms as the entertainment, but Isle of Capri is banking on high rollers and the general public to make their latest venture a success. This new casino soon to be operating in England may yet prove to be the best of the bunch. (E-06.06.07)

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