Metropolitan Gaming is a British gaming company that operates eleven casinos in the United Kingdom, Egypt, and South Africa. It is owned by

Silver Point Capital Silver Point Capital is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund that focuses on credit and special situations investments. It was founded in 2002 by former Goldman Sachs partners, Edward A. Mulé and Robert J. O’Shea. Together, they created a ...

. The casinos began as part of

Grand Metropolitan Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to form ...

, and later became an independent company, London Clubs International. From 2006 to 2021, they were owned by

Harrah's Entertainment Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven go ...

and then

Caesars Entertainment Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corpora ...

History

London Clubs originated as a chain of casinos owned by the conglomerate

. In 1988, Grand Metropolitan decided to sell its casino division to focus on its core businesses of food, beverages, and retail. The next year, London Clubs became an independent company, when Grand Metropolitan sold an 80 percent stake in the chain in a

management buy-out A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...

for £128 million. Its operations at the time comprised six casinos in London, one in France, and five on

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

cruise ships. In 1991, British gaming regulators opened an investigation of London Clubs, focusing on alleged violations of casino regulations and questionable backgrounds of some of the company's shareholders. The Gaming Board decided to oppose license renewals for the company's casinos in London. Ultimately, London Clubs was able to satisfy regulators by replacing its top management and arranging for shareholder David Shamoon to sell his stock, and the casinos' licenses were renewed. LCI became a publicly traded company in 1994 when it was floated on the

Unlisted Securities Market The Unlisted Securities Market (USM), which ran from 1980 to 1996, was a stock exchange set up by the London Stock Exchange to cater for companies too small to qualify for a full listing. The USM allowed companies to be traded which did not have ...

. By 2001, LCI had developed severe financial problems, after its failed venture in the Aladdin Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. A combination of cost overruns, declining tourism, and poor design led to the casino filing bankruptcy in September 2001 and eliminating LCI's equity in the casino. In 2006, London Clubs International was acquired by

. Before being bought by Harrah's, LCI was in negotiations with

Stanley Leisure Stanley Leisure is a British casino firm. History The company was founded in the 1950s as a bookmakers in Belfast. It was originally run by Leonard Steinberg, Baron Steinberg. In 1977, Steinberg moved the business to Liverpool after an attempted ...

(England's largest casino operator) about a possible merger, but the latter were outbid by Harrah's.

Genting Group The Genting Group is a company headquartered in the Wisma Genting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It comprises the holding company Genting Berhad (), its listed subsidiaries Genting Malaysia Berhad (), Genting Plantations Berhad (), Genting Singapore ...

, a Malaysian gaming giant, was also interested in LCI. "London Clubs is an important strategic asset for foreign gaming companies wanting to establish a footprint in the UK ahead of deregulation," said Matthew Gerard of Investec Securities. Interest in British casinos had increased in 2006 due to legislation that allowed for larger "Vegas style" casinos. At the time of purchase, LCI operated casinos in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

, and

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, as well as in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It also had licences to build five additional casinos. LCI is best known for being the host of the

World Series of Poker Europe The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) is the first expansion effort of World Series of Poker-branded poker tournaments outside the United States. Since 1970, participants had to travel to Las Vegas if they wanted to compete in the World Series o ...

(WSOPE). The

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world, and the WSOPE was the first time it held an event outside of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

.Warner, Eric
Stay classy, London: Jeffrey Pollack on the World Series of Poker Europe
27 February 2007. Pokerlisting.com Accessed 7/25/07 In 2007,

Thomas Bihl Thomas Bihl (born 1975) is a German poker player who became the first person to win a World Series of Poker bracelet outside Las Vegas, Nevada. Bihl was sponsored by Betfair, the official sponsor of the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOP ...

became the first person to ever win a WSOP bracelet outside of Vegas. Bihl won the £2,500 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. at the World Series of Poker Europe at LCI. Days later,

Annette Obrestad Annette Obrestad (born 18 September 1988) is a Norwegian YouTuber and poker player. She is the youngest person to ever win a World Series of Poker bracelet, which she accomplished at the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE). She also runs a ...

became the youngest player to ever win a WSOP bracelet at 18 years, 364 days, also becoming the first woman to win a World Series Main Event (Unlike Nevada, English gambling laws do not prohibit 18-year-olds from participating). Harrah's Casinos, the owner of the WSOP, considers the WSOP Europe bracelet to be the same in prestige as those awarded every year in Las Vegas. While no definitive plans have been announced, Pollack indicated in February 2007 that other venues may start holding WSOP events. Egypt and South Africa were mentioned as possible expansion sites because Harrah's owns casinos, via LCI, in those two locations.Bambach, Mik
World Series of Poker ups the ante, expands event to Europe
6-28-07. USA Today. Accessed 7/25/07 In 2010, Harrah's was renamed as Caesars Entertainment. Caesars was acquired in 2020 by Eldorado Resorts, which then changed its own name to Caesars Entertainment. By this time, the former London Clubs were known as Caesars Entertainment

EMEA EMEA is a shorthand designation meaning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The acronym is used by institutions and governments, as well as in marketing and business when referring to this region: it is a shorthand way of referencing the two ...

. In July 2021, Caesars sold its EMEA division to the newly formed Metropoitan Gaming, an affiliate of

, for a reported £15 million.

Casinos

Egypt

London Club Cairo

The Ramses Casino Cairo

The Kings and Queens Cairo

South Africa

Emerald Resort & Casino Emerald Resort & Casino is a hotel and casino located at a private estate on the banks of the Vaal River in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. The casino opened in 1997. Ownership The Emerald Resort & Casino was majority-owned by London Clubs Interna ...

United Kingdom

Alea Glasgow

Alea Nottingham

Empire Casino

Manchester235

Metropolitan Mayfair

The Rendezvous Casino Brighton

The Sportsman

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Website
World Series of Poker British companies established in 1981 Gambling companies established in 1981 1981 establishments in England Gambling companies of the United Kingdom British subsidiaries of foreign companies 2006 mergers and acquisitions