Dave Ulliott, who is known as Devilfish, cut the ribbon at Opera House Bet, which cost around £200,000.

Mr Ulliott, who was invited by managers at the Opera House Casino to open the facility, has won millions of pounds in poker tournaments around the world and often appears on TV poker programmes. He said: "It's an honour to be opening the betting shop and I hope it's a success. It's a lovely place and nice and homely. I like Scarborough because it's a nice place with nice people."

As part of the opening there was a prize draw and a celebratory poker tournament in the casino.

Operations director Rob 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.

"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."