The £500,000 refurbishment of Grosvenor Casino Leeds will help the property attract a wider variety of customers and ensure it becomes a mainstream leisure venue, general manager John Docherty told InterGaming.
Grosvenor unveiled its new-look casino on Thursday with an entertainment-packed launch event for new and existing members. Rank Group chairman Ian Burke was also on hand to welcome guests.
The newly "refreshed" casino now boasts a 140-seat poker room, a new dining area and bar and a lounge area featuring big-screen TVs for live sports events.
Speaking at the event, Docherty said this new investment ensures the club is now in a position to raise its profile within the city.
"It’s taken the club from where it’s been stood for such a long time into that real leisure marketplace to be the main player there," he said. "I think people are much more particular about how they spend their leisure pound - and quite rightly so. As a public we expect more, myself included. I now feel we’ve got something to offer that’s really attractive."
The casino, which is one of four in the city, is aiming to take advantage of a shift in the UK gaming market that has seen the overall entertainment experience become increasingly important. Gaming is now just one aspect of what such properties can offer.
"I think it is a very wide marketplace now," Docherty continued. "We’ve got our existing, long-serving members who are adjusting to this kind of change well and it’s been a gradual change over the years for them, but there’s a much newer, younger market in terms of poker and party bookings.
"Entertainment - the sort of thing we’ve never done before - fits in very well."
The aim, he said, is to reposition Grosvenor Casinos to become part of the mainstream leisure choice along with other main high street operators, in terms of food and beverage.
"I hope tonight that we’ve put ourselves across as a very relaxed, very friendly and welcoming environment that is safe for people to relax in and dispelled any myths there may be out there."
