All a-flutter

• Kate Feld
• 31 Jan 07, 08:02 PM

Ka-ching! That's the sound of Manchester landing the country's first supercasino, beating out bids from highly favoured Blackpool and some oversized dome down South. And oh, the blogs are buzzing. You might expect citizens of Mancunia to be rubbing their hands with mercenary glee over our city's unexpected jackpot, but think again.

"Glorious news," writes sarcasm king Blood and Treasure. "Manchester is about to become the British headquarters of the taxing-the-stupid industry..."You know, I’m sure all our councilors watch It’s a Wonderful Life every Christmas. And when they see that sequence with the angel who shows George Bailey the raucous hellhole his town would have become if it wasn’t for him, they say: 'that’s exactly what we need here.'"

Some have shown a more softhearted side, fretting about what the loss of the casino will mean for the beleaguered seaside resort. "Spare a thought for Blackpool," writes Stephen Newton in his Diary of Sorts. "The town’s regeneration strategy is now in tatters – and it’s hard to see what they’ll do now."

Others have been less... erm...sympathetic to the loser's plight. Girl on a Train says "I'm gutted at the news that the super casino has gone to Manchester. My slogan all along has been “Blackpool – because you couldn’t make it any worse”. And imagine what David Nightingale would’ve been able to do with all that neon and glitz."

Quite a few bloggers have questioned the wisdom of locating the casino in economically-deprived East Manchester. Thousands and Millions asks if it will come at too high a cost: "The promotion of gambling and opening up of new ‘Las Vegas’ style casino’s cannot be a good thing for wider society and community sustainability & cohesion."

Skipper fears not only gambing addiction and crime but dire consequences for Manchester's image; will the name of our fair city become, like Las Vegas, linked forever in people's minds with naked greed and moral vacuity? "This is not to say that Beswick won't value 2500 new jobs and the inflow of hundreds of millions of cash into the local economy," he writes. "And it's a relief too that the Dome did not win a prize over which John Prescott was so over-enthusiastically lobbied by billionaire owner Philip Anshutz. But am I alone in feeling very uneasy about all this?

However, there's nothing morally wrong with gambling responsibly, says Hug a Hoodie. He has a good summary of both sides of this morality question on his blog, but admits he doesn't know the answer to this debate. And anyway, you won't see him in Beswick: "my vice is Texas Hold’Em poker, and it’s just not worth playing it at a casino, because the House helps itself to a percentage of every pot. "

The Marple Leaf , at least, thinks Manchester was the right choice: "the body set up to scrutinise the bids looked at delivery, regeneration and the business case - I never thought Blackpool would be able to make that stack up. Manchester is top draw on putting together winning bids - Sports events, political conferences and trade exhibitions."

Still, even he is ambivalent about whether the supercasino has a super future: "having joined new Manchester 235 casino just before Christmas I was absolutely stunned at the scale of the place, but aghast at the emptiness of it. It was soulless and lifeless and bore no relation to the shiny images on the brochures. I just don't think they'll catch on."

Hmmm.... fancy a wager on it?