Gambling is a tricky business. It was an outsider that romped home victorious in the UK super-casino stakes this week.

The odds on Manchester winning the race to host Britain’s first Las Vegas-style gambling palace were 16 to 1, leaving bookmaker Paddy Power smiling and punters counting their losses. The favourites – Blackpool in the northwest of England and Greenwich in London – were also downhearted, having developed regeneration strategies around building a single casino with 1,250 slot machines paying out unlimited jackpots.