Hugh Hefner the 84-year-old founder of Playboy magazine and the media empire surrounding it—including the latest spin-off, the E! reality TV series The Girls Next Door—said last week he wants to move away from “adult programming” and back toward one of his former activities, casinos.

Hefner, whose casino background includes not only the London Playboy Club but the failed Atlantic City Playboy Casino (which went through later incarnations as the Atlantis and Trump World’s Fair before closing for good), announced plans to open casinos in London and Macau.

“We will be announcing casinos in both Macau and London,” Hefner said in a statement. “As far as media goes, I think we’ll be involved in more mainstream ventures. That’s the direction we’re moving in; we’re moving away from the adult programming because it’s not the future. I think it gets in the way of who we are, and who we want to be.”

Hefner offered no details on the planned casinos, saying those will come later. He did say they will play on the strength of the Playboy brand.

By Staff