Another update and perhaps more confusion as to when and where was the opening and location of Britain's first casino.
We now have to include Port Talbot in Wales as a contender.
Check out the following links with research done by the grandson of George Alfred James who was the owner of the Kingsway Casino in Southport who passed away in 1976.
The Father of British Casinos: The George Alfred James Story
http://www.livecasino.co.uk/resource...d-james-story/
October 2013
Story of Port Talbot man who changed the world of gambling has been uncovered
http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co...ail/story.html
Stories of glamorous casino era given another spin of the wheel
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/St...ail/story.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsway,_Southport
www.kingswaycasino.com
Some interesting information in the two articles including the donation from Lee Trevino when he won the British Open in 1971 and the setting up of the Casino onboard the Empress of Canada. The vessel later became Carnival Cruise Line's first ship the TSS Mardi Gras and ran aground on it's maiden voyage from Miami in March 1972.
Lee Trevino @ Royal Birkdale 1971
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gamingfloor/11108069313/
Ian