EVERY firm bidding to build a super-casino in Southampton have gone through to the final phase of the competition.

In a bizarre twist, all of the companies bidding to run the gambler’s paradise went through after a mammoth meeting during which city councillors were supposed to be whittling the number of bids down.

Five firms – Grosvenor, Kymeira Casino Ltd, Genting Casinos UK Ltd, Global Gaming Ventures and Aspers – had handed in seven bids to run the gamblers’ paradise.

It is the last of eight licences for the large-scale casinos – which can have up to 150 slot machines and 30 blackjack and poker tables – to be handed out in the country.

The new casino is likely to be located at the proposed £450 million Royal Pier development, but two bids were for different sites.

Global Gaming Ventures has also handed in a bid to place it at the Watermark WestQuay development, while Grosvenor has handed in an appl-ication for it to be at the Leisureworld complex in West Quay Road.

Conditions Yesterday, the city council’s licensing committee went through the merits of all seven bids, and decided to put all of them through to the final stage of the competition.

Committee chairman Matt Tucker said: “We looked at whether they met the criteria of our licensing objectives for the super-casino, and all of them satisfied the broad criteria.”

He said the committee had already decided to impose a number of conditions on whoever is eventually announced as the operator of the new casino.

Cllr Tucker added: “One of the criteria we have laid down is that no-one will be able to look into the casino from outside to see gambling going on.

“We also want them to adopt a Challenge 25 policy to mitigate concerns people might have.

“It’s now the responsibility of the committee and myself as chairman to determine which one ultimately gets the licence.”

He added that the final decision is likely to be made next June.