Simon Thomas
| Simon Thomas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 20 June 1965 Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom |
| 🏳️ Nationality | British |
| 🎓 Alma mater | University of Bristol |
| 💼 Occupation | CEO, founder and owner of Hippodrome Casino |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Fiona (m. 1994) |
| 👶 Children | 3 |
James Simon Thomas (born June 20 1965) is an English businessman in the gambling. He is co-founder - along with his father Jimmy Thomas - of the Hippodrome Casino, London[1][2], and is its current CEO. He is also a director of several other companies within the gambling and entertainment sectors in the United Kingdom.
Early life and education[edit]
Thomas was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, into a family that was already established in the gaming and entertainment industry; including owning fairgrounds, bingo halls and casinos.
He attended Uppingham School, Rutland, Leicestershire, and then studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol. [1]
Career[edit]
After graduating, Thomas spent two years working for merchant bank Singer & Friedlander, before joining the family business, Thomas Estates Ltd, as a Managing Director. Thomas’s father, Jimmy Thomas, had built an entertainment and bingo business called Thomas Automatics, before selling part of the group to the Rank Organisation in 1987. Some amusement and bingo sites were retained from Thomas Automatics, and they formed Thomas Estates Ltd.[1]
Thomas expanded Thomas Estates Ltd to a point where it owned multiple sites - including the largest bingo hall in the United Kingdom, in Cricklewood, London.[3]
The Hippodrome Casino[edit]
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A sale of Thomas Estates Ltd to Riva Gaming in 2006 for £80 million gave Thomas the funds he needed to acquire and refurbish the former Hippodrome Theatre in Leicester Square, London.[4]
The Hippodrome was originally designed by theatre architect Frank Matcham in 1899. It was originally a circus variety theatre and has been subject to a number of significant transformations since its initial opening. At various times it has been a music hall, a revue theatre, a dinner dance venue called Talk of the Town and a nightclub operated by Peter Stringfellow. [5]
Having acquired the Hippodrome, Thomas obtained planning permission for the refurbishment in 2006, and, invoking the 2005 Gambling Act which allowed casinos to offer live entertainment[6], a gaming license for the venue in 2008. The full reconstruction of the Hippodrome and the neighbouring Cranbourn Mansions building was estimated at being £40 million.[7]
The new Hippodrome Casino opened on Friday, July 13, 2012, after a six-year planning and construction project[8]. Within five months of the launch the Hippodrome had become the busiest traditional casino in the UK, employing more than 600 people. It opened with four floors of gaming, five bars, a restaurant, private dining rooms, a cash poker deck, conference facilities and a 180-seat cabaret theatre. Thomas has since expanded the casino on several occasions, including adding a clubhouse for the online poker website PokerStars in 2013[9] and a new underground casino underneath the main Hippodrome floor in 2014 called Lola’s.[10] In November 2015, Thomas acquired the Crystal Rooms, a gaming centre inside the Hippodrome that had previously been separately owned.
Other Business Interests[edit]
Thomas is a director of a number of other companies aside from the Hippodrome; including Next Generation Australia Ltd (a company of health and tennis clubs), World Bingo Tech, the Heart of London Business Alliance and the European Amusement & Gaming Expo Ltd.[11]
Campaign work[edit]
Midway during the building stage of the Hippodrome Casino, Thomas funded a campaign to prevent Westminster City Council imposing car parking charges throughout the West End.[citation needed] He commissioned research that demonstrated that evening and Sunday afternoon charges would cost £800 million in lost revenue annually for the local area and risk 5,100 jobs.[citation needed] The plans were ultimately dropped and the leader of Westminster City Council, Colin Barrow, resigned on January 14, 2012. [12]
Thomas has also campaigned against restrictions on Chinese visas to the UK, to make it easier for citizens from China to enter and businesses to invest in, the UK. [13]
Thomas has spoken out in support of regulations on cycle rickshaws in London’s West End.[14]
Memberships[edit]
Thomas was the youngest ever president of the British Amusement Catering Trade Association, and is still a member of its principal committee. He was on the executive committee of the Bingo Association until 2006. He also has maintained Gambling Commission Certification for over 20 years.[15]
Charity work[edit]
Thomas is a trustee of the Alma Thomas Royal Marsden Settlement, a Loughborough-based charity raising funds for Royal Marsden Hospital[16] and Gamcare, a responsible gambling charity.[17]
Personal life[edit]
Thomas and his wife Fiona married in October 1994, and have three children, a son, Freddie and two daughters, Ella and Luisa. He is an advanced PADI diver and has a pilot’s license. He is a member of MENSA and the MCC as well as a patron of the Royal Opera House. He is a keen skier.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "From Houdini through Stringfellow – the casino rebirth of the Hippodrome". Growth Business. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "HIPPODROME CASINO LIMITED - Officers (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "From Houdini through Stringfellow – the casino rebirth of the Hippodrome". Growth Business. 2012-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ Russell, Jonathan (2010-07-18). "London Hippodrome to become 24-hour casino after Simon Thomas' £30m refit". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "The London Hippodrome, Hippodrome Corner, Cranbourn Street, City of Westminster". www.arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "Will the smoking ban kill bingo halls?". 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "Home" (PDF). Theatres Trust. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "Welcome to the pleasure dome: Leicester Square Hippodrome opens as". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ Pokerlistings.com (2013-02-20). "PokerStars LIVE is coming to the Hippodrome". mirror. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "Hippodrome gamblers strike it lucky with dancing girls". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "James Simon THOMAS - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "West End parking: turmoil as chief's shock exit rocks Westminster". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ Phillips, Tom (2013-07-11). "Visa rules for Chinese 'cost Britain £5m a day'". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "Revealed: West End pedicab drivers 'are paid tips by prostitutes'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "NEW TRUSTEE AT GAMCARE". www.casinomeister.com. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "Charity Details". beta.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ↑ "NEW TRUSTEE AT GAMCARE". www.casinomeister.com. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
External links[edit]
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