THE National Exhibition Centre must overcome 26 rivals to hit the jackpot by claiming the right to build Britain's first super-casino, it emerged today.
The £250 million NEC scheme was confirmed as one of 27 locations submitted to a Government panel in the race to introduce 24-hour gambling and £1 million slot machines to the UK.
Front-running bids from Blackpool, London, Manchester and Glasgow were also among the contenders formally announced by the Casino Advisory Panel.
And the NEC faces more competition from rival Midland schemes which could see the gambling centre based at Coventry's Ricoh Arena or near Merry Hill at Dudley.
Cannock and Wolverhampton have also bid for the right to build one of 16 smaller regional casinos which will be dotted around the country.
The first round of the selection process is set to last for up to two months, although the panel has already dismissed the listing of early favourites in the race for the super-casino.
Group chairman, Prof Stephen Crow, said each contender would be fairly considered.
"These proposals represent a lot of hard work by the people who prepared them and a lot of difficult decision-making," he said. "They deserve fair and thorough examination. Over the next few weeks all the proposals, and the evidence supporting them, will be considered to see how they measure up. We expect this process will last at least six to eight weeks.
"We will not be making any further announcements during this period."
The NEC scheme, a 14-1 shot with the bookies, was put forward with the MGM Mirage casino chain. It has already controversially beaten proposals to build the gambling mecca at Saltley in plans which would have included a new ground for Birmingham City FC.
The Birmingham Mail revealed last week council bosses vetoed the Blues scheme after being told the NEC's annual debts of almost £8 million could be wiped out if the super-casino was built there.
