Blackpool wants to mimic Las Vegas

Many English seaside towns seem as if they are stuck in a time warp, in an era when families and charabancs full of factory workers would converge on the shore for fun and frolics. As buildings decay and holiday makers flock to warmer shores resorts like Blackpool and Morecambe on the northwest coast are looking to refresh their image. Blackpool council custom Inflatable Castle has drawn up radical plans to turn its stretch of coastline, known as the Golden Mile, into what some have called the new Las Vegas of Europe. The town is keen to capitalize on a proposed deregulation of Britain's gambling laws. "Blackpool needs to see major change if it is to turn the tide and create a prosperous future," said deputy council leader Eddie Collett. The aim is to build five big casinos and create around 30,000 new jobs. The project is already underway but developers say it will take until 2020 to finish. Council manufacture Inflatable Slide officials say the plan could generate around 437 million pounds a year and increase annual tourist visitors to around 15 million from 11 million now.