Manchester was recently recommended as the site for Britain’s first, and possibly last, super-casino, when the UK Casino Advisory Panel suggested to Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, that Manchester should receive a regional casino license.

It was a decision that shocked everyone involved in the race for the license, as Blackpool and London had been installed as the runaway favourites in the hours before the decision.

But in a show of altruism Manchester’s senior councillors have announced they will continue to lobby the government for more super-casinos, increasing the possibility that Blackpool may yet host its own super-casino.