Manchester235, owned by Caesars Entertainment, announced a 10 percent increase in revenue and staff. The 60,000 square foot venue in the Great Northern Warehouse is open 24/7 and offers a James Martin restaurant, a cocktail bar, a luxury private event suite, multiple gaming floors of gaming and a poker lounge. It employs 221 people.
Director Mark Hands said, “When we opened 10 years ago the location was good, but only in recent years has it really started to come into fruition. Down the road we now have Revolucion de Cuba, Albert’s Schloss, BeAT Street and the likes and that kind of offering not only has created a city which now has a European drinking and party culture, but has created a footfall to this area. That has been great because many years ago the Great Northern itself was an empty void, the footfall through it wasn’t great. That’s changed now.”
Hands noted the James Martin restaurant, which the celebrity chef opened three years ago, has been a big attraction. “Since its launch, it has done tremendously, the people of Manchester like it, we have people coming from all over the north west to dine here, and it was even voted in the Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants in Britain for 2015-16, and is a real highlight for Manchester235,” he said. Hands said the restaurant is a way to move the casinos from its “dark and dingy” reputation. “Having restaurants such as James Martin helps with that. It takes up 30 percent of our floor space, but is well worth it for us. In Nottingham we have Marco Pierre White, in Glasgow we have Tasty by Tony Singh, so this celebrity relationship has proved to work and has really helped change people’s perception of the industry. And because of our links to Las Vegas, Caesars has helped us to bring that offering and unique Vegas feel to the UK,” Hands said.
He added Caesars has played an important role in the property’s advancement. “We’re really lucky that the bosses in the U.S. have a real vested interest in what happens in Manchester. They’re very switched on and pay a lot of attention. Caesars is the most recognized casino brand in the world and to have that kind of network really helps when we look at what we want to do next in Manchester. We are however considerably more regulated in the UK than in the U.S., where they’re much more loud and proud, and not everything we do Stateside will wash here. So yes we take ideas such as replicating the great restaurant offering, the party atmosphere, but equally it has to be put into the context of what Manchester wants.”
The core of the property—gaming—is taken very seriously, Hands said, noting the casino’s motto is “to inspire grownups to play.” He stated, “We operate very carefully controlled enjoyment areas. We offer, in a very heavily controlled area, the opportunity for people to have fun and reach a controlled exposure to risk. Our responsibility is to make sure people gamble within their limits and if we suspect that a person doesn’t have the means and funds to play with, we will stop them.”
He added, “When you look at when we first launched we had less gaming tables, and less electronic offering. Now we have increased the electronic offering to the latest, such as electronic roulette, and we have developed our poker lounge, which is by far the best in the north of England.”
Hands said Manchester235’s customers primarily are locals. “And they come here for a variety of reasons. We can have a fun party atmosphere such as the Vegas scene, with people playing roulette, black jack or they choose our electronic offering. And of course there’s poker, which is a very skilled game and we tend to find poker players are from a different demographic again. They don’t drink, they are very serious, they believe their skill set will allow them to win,” Hands said.
As the new year approaches, Hands said, “2017 is going to be massive for us.” He said the property will invest $12.5 million in a rebrand and re-launch. “Every year our revenues have gone up and up, Manchester has been a continuous success over the last three years. We’re looking at every aspect of the Manchester venue and seeing where we can change it and improve the customer experience,” Hands said.
