Simon Thomas is the seventh generation of his family to work in the leisure industry. With over 17 years Gaming Certification, he was the youngest ever President of the British Amusement Catering Trade Association and is currently a director of several companies in the gaming and entertainment industry. He was also Managing Director of Thomas Estates Ltd which operated many venues including Beacon Bingo in Cricklewood, the largest and most successful Bingo club in the country.

Today, he is the CEO and Chairman of Hippodrome Casino. We caught up with Thomas to learn more about what makes Hippodrome unique, his favorite part of his job, what he’s most looking forward to at G2E 2019 and much more.

Can you give a brief overview of your career and what led you to where you are today?
I was born in the middle of England, a county called Leicestershire, into a family that was already established in the gaming and entertainment industry; my ancestors owned fairgrounds through to my father owning bingo halls and casinos. I'm the seventh generation doing this.

After Uppingham School, I studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Bristol University. After graduating I spent a couple of years working for merchant bank, Singer & Friedlander, before joining the family business, Thomas Estates Ltd, as a Managing Director.

My father Jimmy had built an entertainment and bingo business called Thomas Automatics, which he sold to The Rank Organisation in 1987. He kept a bingo hall and a small core of amusement sites for the family and I took it over and expanded it to a point where it owned about 30 sites - including the largest and most successful bingo hall in the country, in Cricklewood, London. My timing was fortuitous, as bingo was deregulated in the 90s allowing multi-activity superclubs like Cricklewood. I rode the wave.

I was lucky enough to be President of BACTA, one of the gambling trade associations from 1999 to 2001 and so involved in the discussions that led to the new Gambling Act in 2005. I could see it did not look good for Bingo (and the in-coming smoking ban looked even worse), but the new act was going to give casinos the deregulation that I had learnt to use in Bingo halls. So I sold Thomas Estates Ltd to Riva Gaming in 2006 for £80 million. This gave me the funds we needed to take on the former Hippodrome Theatre in Leicester Square, London and turn it into an international-style casino, the likes of which had not been seen before in the UK. The Hippodrome Casino was born.

Describe your day in numbers.
32 – The number of hours I would like in a day, there is so much to do and fun to be had. I love flying to Vegas as I get a 32 hour day with the time difference. Only 16 on the way back, but I need sleep by then!

60 – Number of gaming tables we have.

5 – Number of floors of activity at the Hippodrome, soon to be 6.

760 – The number of employees we have, the largest in the West End of London for an entertainment venue.

7.4 – The number of £millions in pre-sales for Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike Live, the current production in our theatre here, the sixth highest presales of any show in London history.

5,500 – The average number of customers we get each day, we have had nearly 11 million through our doors so far.

2 – The very welcome number to which the Government has reduced the stake on a roulette terminal in a betting shop. I believe strongly that you should have gaming opportunity proportional to the environment and £100 roulette terminals in low supervision environments on the high street was crazy.

What can you tell us about The Hippodrome Casino and what makes it unique?
It’s the first, and still the only, one of its kind in the UK; an amalgam of casino and entertainment combined with the rich history of a London theatrical icon. Truly unique is the venue itself – a former theatre re-imagined as London’s biggest night out comprising three separate casino floors each with its own identity and vibe; seven bars; the multi-award winning Heliot Steak House; a dedicated poker deck and rooms; the West End’s only two-tier smoking terrace where you can also gamble; and since November our theatre is home to Magic Mike Live which has brought in 650 additional customers every night, and broken numerous records in theatrical pre-sales. We’re a true pioneer, so seamlessly have we integrated world class entertainment, quality food and drink together with core gaming.

What is your favorite part of your job and why?
Watching people enjoy themselves because what we’ve created works well. You can imagine, with our location in the heart of London’s entertainment district and an additional entrance onto Chinatown, the tremendous diversity of people who come here. However, when you look beyond appearance, creed, dress, manner and temperament – a smile’s a smile.

What’s in store for your property in the future?
The biggest physical change this year if all goes to plan, will be the addition of an extra floor and a half on the Smoking Terrace which is a massive infrastructure project. But legislatively we are working with the Government to allow UK casinos to have more than 20 slot machine which will allow casinos to deliver more of what customers want.

What is your favorite piece of advice to give gaming industry professionals early in their career?
The best advice is not exclusive to the gaming industry. Be naturally positive and find solutions, not problems. You have to either find a way, or make a way, if walk away is not an option. And smile. Fundamentally, you have to enjoy your job.

What are the top three trends you see leading the transformation of the gaming industry?
Revenue diversification in land-based gaming – a shift from transactional gambling towards entertainment and enhanced non-gaming amenities; a shift away from VIPs towards the mass market and mainstream; enhanced customer protection measures.

What are your most memorable moments from a G2E show?
Seeing people I don’t get to see any other time in the year.

What do you think will be the biggest topics of discussion this year at G2E?
Sports betting and safer gambling.

What are you most looking forward to at G2E 2019?
The people. As amazing as the exhibition is, with its new and exciting products, it is the chat around the exhibition that best informs the future of the industry.

Learn more about Hippodrome Casino here.
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