Since opening in 2005, the 45,000 sq ft facility has become a huge hit with local people and visitors to the North East, becoming a model for similar venues in Swansea and Northampton.  In April 2008, Aspers was the first casino in the UK to go membership-free and this, along with the beginning of 24 hour opening in November, helped it to achieve record results across the year.

"We always aim to keep moving forward with new ideas and innovations," said Richard Noble, Chief Operating Officer of Aspers. "These figures show that, even in challenging economic times, Aspers at The Gate has continued to show strong customer growth.

"It's particularly gratifying that even in February of last year, before the new membership rules were introduced, we still achieved growth of 25 percent year on year."

The Aspers team have worked hard to make the casino an integral part of Newcastle's social scene, playing an active role in annual events such as Chinese New Year and running regular networking events for local businesses. Aspers was also the first venue in the UK to launch a loyalty programme, branded 'Aspire' which attracts an average of 1,500 new members each month.

/...more

Footfall in August 2008 was up over 40 percent and overall visitor numbers are more than five times the national average for a provincial casino, giving some indication of the success achieved by Aspers in Newcastle.

 "This venture has been a huge success for us," added Richard. "Aspers represents a new type of leisure venue, offering a restaurant, bars, beauty spa and live entertainment as well as gaming. This is reflected in the fact that 33 percent of our customers are women."

Aspers will be investing in further new innovations for 2009, aiming to improve on the 50,000 people who came through the doors in December. The first new attraction is a state-of-the-art electronic roulette table, a first for the North East of England, which was installed in January.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• Aspers is a 45,000ft2 leisure facility in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne.
• The venue includes bars, restaurant, beauty spa, live entertainment and state-of-the-art gaming facilities. 
• Aspers has attracted almost 125,000 members in just over three years from a catchment area covering Northumberland and County Durham, reaching across to Cumbria and down to York.
• In late 2007 Aspers became the first casino operator in the country to launch a loyalty club - Aspire - that allows customers to collect and redeem points throughout its operations (including gaming).  Customers are now able to gain points for every purchase made on the premises and can also earn bonus points on selected promotions. 
• In April 2008, Aspers became the first British casino to go 'membership free' which means that virtually all visitors can freely walk through the reception area without completing membership forms. Aspers is open to those aged 18 or over. Photo ID is required if you look under 21 and to join our Aspire Loyalty Club.
• At every Aspers location, the company has set up the Community Action for Responsible Gaming (CARG) programme. This initiative is unique to Aspers and is based on similar successful schemes in Australasia. CARG is a voluntary, not-for-profit group that seeks to constructively address problem gambling issues in society through a working partnership between local community-based interest groups.