They even have a VIP room, one of a vanishingly small number of successful VIP rooms in provincial UK casinos – it is rumoured the odd premiership footie player can be found within. Minimums are northerner friendly, and with a full range of reasonably up to date slots on the main gaming floor as well as a poker offering on the ground floor, they’ve got every angle covered. The staff are a friendly bunch too, and overall I’d say it was one of the best casino experiences you could find in the UK. I also had a dessert, some sort of orange / chocolate concoction that defies description, but was tremendous. I’m not much of a fine dining person – a bin lid sized pizza and a pint of Old ThrottleCock generally fits the bill for me – but the restaurant in here does the small portion / awesome flavour very well. It’s one of the very few examples in the UK of a casino that really offers something to suit all types – and although some elements are looking a little careworn, notably the carpet, which I reckon is worn enough you could see the light through it, you’d not feel out of place in the bar on a dressed up night out, and the food in the restaurant is something else.

It’s on several levels, which isn’t ideal, but the main gaming floor is a great place to play, and further upstairs you’ll find a spiffy bar and their main restaurant, provided in association with James Martin, him off the telly. I reckon it’s the joint best looking casino in the UK (along with Soul Aberdeen and Genting Sheffield, maybe), all moody lighting and industrial columns, blended together to make a really fine looking spot.

The casino is a bit tricky to find – the entrance is round the back – but once you get inside, it’s a proper experience. Caesras’ Manchester offering sits in the Great Northern Warehouse, not the most enticing name for a leisure destination, and in fact there is a marked lack of tenants in the building apart from a cinema, although by all accounts a huge bowling alley is on the way (which has actually opened since this review was written – still a few empty units mind).

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