Caesars Entertainment
Caesars UK are owned by Caesars Entertainment operating out of Las Vegas.
They run 8 UK sites, with three in London and 5 around the rest of the country. LCI actually trade as a variety of brands – in London they have the Playboy, Empire and Sportsman, while around the UK they have the Alea in Glasgow and Nottingham, the Rendezvous in Southend and the separately branded Manchester 235. They recently closed the Golden Nugget, sadly – it was nothing if not full of character.
All of their sites are relatively newly built, albeit not necessarily having been refurbished for a while. The jewel in their crown is the Empire casino in Leicester Square, which is located right there below the cinema and reputedly makes a fortune – it benefits from squadrons of tourists as well as Chinatown right around the corner.
Caesars – they were called LCI then – went big some years ago, opening those huge units outside London, with what are best described as mixed results. They had a very large site in Leeds until closing it recently – they figured “if we build it they will come”, but a location outside of the city centre with three other central competitors did for them. Their other sites are very impressive and well worth a visit.
