Genting Casino Westcliff is a

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

establishment located on the Western Esplanade,

Westcliff-on-Sea Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff) is an inner city area of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north shore of the lower Thames Estuary, about 34 ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, on the seafront overlooking the

Thames estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

History

The original "Westcliff" and "Waterfront" Casinos were established in the 1970s and it was originally at the Mill House in Station Road. It opened at its present site, formerly an open-air swimming pool and then a boat deck as part of The Westcliff Leisure Centre, in 1987. It has developed into the largest provincial

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

and the second largest in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. The casino was first run by

Brent Walker Brent Walker was a British company involved in property, gambling, distilled beverages and pubs. It was founded by George Walker, the brother of the boxer Billy Walker. In 1991, following the accumulation of debts which had been used to finance ...

, and then by

R J Bown Holdings R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irelan ...

. It was bought by Genting UK for an estimated £30,000,000. The casino features many slots and Electronic Roulette terminals and twenty table games (single zero American Roulette, Baccarat, Three Card Poker, Blackjack and Two Way Texas Hold'em Poker) as well as a 120 cover restaurant overlooking the Thames Estuary. Only a small part of the entire building is used by the public. The building itself actually descends three floors down. In November 2007, the two sister casinos, "Spielers' Casino" and "Westcliff Casino", were refurbished by Genting Stanley to create the casinos named Southend Mint. Most recently in 2012, the casino underwent a multimillion-pound refurbishment and was renamed. The first casino wedding in the United Kingdom took place at Southend. A player won £200,000 from the casino in 2010 taking him out of debt.

Notes

External links

* Casinos in England Buildings and structures in Southend-on-Sea 1987 establishments in England {{DEFAULTSORT:Genting Casino Westcliff