Girls, get your dancing shoes and sequined tassels ready! The risqué 1950’s dance style of burlesque is taking the North-east by storm and you can now have lessons at Aspers at The Gate.

Newcastle entertainment and gaming complex Aspers at The Gate is celebrating after welcoming its 2.5 millionth visitor through the doors.

The region’s premier poker venue has a new man at the helm after Aspers at The Gate appointed Gary Ramsay as its new Card Room Manager.

Monday: Compared to a lot of people in the casino industry, I work relatively civilised hours. I get in at 9am and check my emails before a group-wide video conference at 10.30. This includes Campaigns Managers from our three sites, our Graphic Designer and Multi-Media Designer. The meeting allows us to schedule all creative requirements for the week and to discuss any design brief changes. I then have a weekly catch-up with Richard Noble, our group Chief Operating Officer, followed by one-to-one conference calls with each Campaigns Manager before I finish around 7pm.

A globetrotting events guru whose 20 year career has taken him from cruise ships in the Caribbean to the gentleman’s clubs of Mayfair is putting down roots in Newcastle, where he has been appointed Events Co-ordinator in Aspers at The Gate.

After more than four years in Newcastle, which have seen it become the most popular casino outside London, Aspers at The Gate is now worth more than £20 million each year to the North East economy.

A North East casino is opening its doors to new gamers with the introduction of a new area where Roulette and Blackjack can be played for fun, with bets starting from just 50p. It’s Time to Play is a new area in Aspers at The Gate, aimed at breaking through some of the mystique that surrounds gaming and showing how games of chance can be gripping and tense, even if you're betting small amounts.

Customers at Newcastle casino have noticed an interesting trend on their Roulette tables in recent months as the amount staked on the colour black seems to rise and fall in line with the fortunes of Newcastle United.

A North East casino has reaffirmed its positions as the region's premier poker venue by doubling the size of its card room. Aspers at The Gate has invested a substantial sum in the new facility, which can hold up to 200 people.

Following the huge success of its weekly Burlesque Night, Aspers at the Gate will be holding a Folies Bergère-themed evening on Saturday 24th October. Inspired by the legendary Parisian music hall, the event will feature the Newcastle-based Etrois dance group, led by professional dancer Ellouise Hempstead, who runs the weekly Burlesque classes at Aspers. In addition to the action-packed cabaret performance, there will be a short display from her pupils, who have been practicing for their big day all year.

Despite the current economic climate, a Newcastle casino is struggling to recruit applicants to its flagship croupier training course, which offers a guaranteed job to all students who make the grade.

A new recruit has completed the North East-based team that will co-ordinate marketing activities for the nationwide operations of Aspers Group, including the company’s casinos in Newcastle, Swansea and Northampton.

A Newcastle leisure venue is celebrating the launch of its new menu with the ‘Dine for a Penny’ promotion, offering a main course for just 1p when another main meal is purchased.

The senior management team that helped to make Aspers at The Gate the busiest casino outside London has been boosted further by the appointment of Alan Barnes as Head of Gaming. Alan joined the Newcastle casino when it opened in 2005 and has since worked across the Aspers group, including periods at the company’s other venues in Swansea and Northampton. He will now oversee a team of more than 200 staff at the Newgate Street casino, which was the first in the UK to go membership-free in 2008.

Following on from the huge success of its Credit Crunch Brunch, which offered a full English breakfast for just 99p, Aspers has unveiled its new Credit Crunch Lunch menu.

A Newcastle casino has celebrated its close links to the city’s Chinese community by contributing £10,000 towards the flood-lighting of the landmark ceremonial arch that marks the entrance to Chinatown.

Newcastle leisure destination Aspers at The Gate has consolidated its position as one of the UK’s top casinos after welcoming almost half a million visitors in 2008, making it the country’s busiest casino.

Aspers at The Gate, is betting on a grand event when it holds its first ever baccarat tournament. It’s also the first competition of its kind outside London. The knock out tournament starts on Sunday 22 July and comes to a close on Tuesday 24 July.