Dave Ulliott, who goes by the nickname Devilfish, will cut the ribbon at Opera House Bet on Saturday October 11.

Mr Ulliott, who has won millions of pounds in poker tournaments around the world and who often appears on TV poker programmes, was invited by managers at the Opera House Casino to do the honours at the new facility, which cost around £200,000.

Rob Coldham, operations director, and Craig Bateman, senior gaming manager, say the new shop is a first.

Mr Coldham said: “This new venture is particularly exciting as we are the first UK-based casino that can boast an adjoining betting shop that is operated by the same company.

“We view Opera House Bet very much as an extension of the casino’s facilities with new opportunities.

“We are already well known for delivering high quality leisure environments and we feel our customers will be impressed by what we are offering them now.

“A lot of time and hard work has been put into ensuring everything is just right and we have a lot of good people around us to ensure our latest venture will be a huge success.”

Opera House Casino owners Nik and Becky Shaw said they they were delighted at the response of members of the public who took the opportunity to look round the casino during the recent Heritage Open Day events around the town.

Mrs Shaw said: “We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved here and dozens of people visited the building to see it for themselves.

“Even people who had initial reservations about the casino gave some very positive comments about its design.”

l See pages 13-15.