JANUARY 1 2008
AMERICANWAY 27
He cited a recent night when actors
Pierce Brosnan, Anthony Hopkins, and
Dennis Hopper were all seen at Fifty as
proof thatcasinosareback instyle.Fiftyhas
also been used for fund-raising events that
havedrawn stars likeEltonJohnandKevin
Spacey and formermodels Claudia Schiffer
and Elle Macpherson. The resurgence of
these venues also got quite a lift from the
recent James Bond movie,
Casino Royale
,
which was set in an impossibly glamorous
fictional casinoand featuredaracyromance
betweenDanielCraig, playing thenew007,
andEvaGreen.
The large investments inLondon’s gam-
ing houses and the concerted effort to at-
tract a new crowd are largely the result of
an important loosening of Britain’s casino
laws thatwent into effect inSeptember. For
decades,Britain’srelatively fewcasinoshave
beenhidden away, hard to locate, anddiffi-
cult touse, inpart because of strict gaming
laws that havemade it impossible for casi-
nos to advertise freely— how do you draw
touristsand casual gamblers if you can’t tell
themwhere you are located andwhen you
areopen?—andalsodue to strict rules that
required gamblers to become members of
the casinos before they could try their luck
at blackjack, roulette, and slot machines.
Those regulations meant would-be gam-
blers could not simply walk into a casino
and start playing.
But all of that changed this past fall,
when thenewGamblingAct easedmanyof
those restrictions, including theprohibition
on television advertising and other stric-
tures that have kept London casinos out of
the limelight. The liberalization of Britain’s
gaming laws isdrawing fresh investment—
and international casino giants — to Lon-
don, Manchester, and other major cities,
where fancy casinos are sprouting to take
advantageofwhat is expected tobeahighly
profitable era for casino operators. Casinos
also can be found in many smaller cities
throughout Britain, givingpeoplewho visit
the countryside a chance to enjoy a night
of gambling aswell. For the first time, visi-
tors fromAmericaandother countrieswho
have proper identification are able to walk
right into most casinos without the time-
consumingprocess of becoming amember.
British casinos are finally able to compete
The last of the
great independents.
The owner/operators
who give not only fine
beef but their hearts
aswell.
FORA FREE BROCHURE:
The Independent Retail
Cattleman’s Association
557Mt. Pleasant Road
Kingston Springs, TN 37082
Visit:
McKendrick’s SteakHouse
ATLANTA, GA..........................770.512.8888
Proprietors:
Claudia&DougMcKendrick,
RickCrowe
MetropolitanGrill
SEATTLE, WA..........................206.624.3287
Proprietor:
JoeMenzyk
Gene&Georgetti
CHICAGO, IL...........................312.527.3718
Proprietors:
Tony &MarionDurpetti
Rainwater’s onKettner
SANDIEGO, CA......................619.233.5757
Proprietors:
Laurel &PaddyRainwater
St. ElmoSteakHouse
INDIANAPOLIS, IN..................317.635.0636
Proprietors:
Steve&CraigHuse
III Forks
DALLAS, TX.............................972.267.1776
Proprietor:
Chris Vogeli
AUSTIN, TX............................. 512.474.1776
Proprietors:
CurtisOsmond&JaimeGutierrez
Vic Stewart’s
WALNUTCREEK, CA..............925.943.5666
(SAN FRANCISCO)
Proprietor:
JohnHerrington
Manny’s
MINNEAPOLIS,MN..................612.339.0201
Proprietors:
Phil Roberts, PeterMihajlov
&KevinKuester
Grill 225
CHARLESTON, SC..................843.266.4222
Proprietor:
NickPalassis
ExecutiveChef:
DemetreCastanas
