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Up to 20 workers lose job as Portsmouth casino closes
Up to 20 workers will lose their jobs while others face uncertain futures after Portsmouth's Mint Casino announced it is to close.
Managers held a meeting on Monday night to tell 35 employees that the business in Guildhall Walk is set to shut on November 30.
The company said it would try and stem redundancies by opening a new venue in Commercial Road and moving employees there.
But the new venue will concentrate on arcade games and fruit machines, and will require around 20 fewer staff - meaning some workers will inevitably lose out.
One employee, 52-year-old dad-of-one Mick Finch from Sackville Street, Southsea, said: 'All I know is it's something to do with the company losing business.
'It's the recession. The place has been as dead as a doornail.
'No-one wants to lose their job, but there's nothing you can do about it.
'It'll be difficult because there's so many people out there going for each and every job at the moment.'
The venue is owned by Genting Group, a Malaysian-based gambling and entertainment giant, and last year it changed the name of the venue from the Stanley Casino to Mint.
The company said in a statement: 'The Mint casino is no longer commercially viable in its current format.
'But, in response to consumer trends, Genting UK plans to replace it by opening an Electric Circus club on Commercial Road, Portsmouth, to operate as an electronic gaming and slot machine leisure venue.
'Many of the staff employed at the Mint casino will be offered continued employment by Genting UK at the new Electric Circus venue.'
A 30-day 'consultation' with staff has now been started.
The new venue in Commercial Road is expected to open around early December, but no planning documents have yet been submitted.
A spokesman for the company said the rise of gambling on the internet may have been one of the factors behind the closure, as gamblers – like pub goers – increasingly stay at home.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 11 February 2012
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