A CASINO which fell victim to the recession almost two years ago is to re-open next month after being dealt new financial backing.

Casino Red closed its Huddersfield town centre venue in November, 2008, with the loss of 100 jobs – just eight weeks after opening in a blaze of publicity.

Now the casino is set to re-open on October 6 – with 60 staff – after its owners secured new finance from new bankers, NatWest.

The casino, housed in the grade II listed former Princess Cinema at Northumberland Street, is getting a brush-up after standing empty for almost two years.

Work now under way includes re-painting some areas, re-laying floors and altering back office accommodation.

But major fixtures and fittings, including gaming machines, roulette, black jack and poker tables, the bar and restaurant, seating and a glass and stainless steel spiral staircase remained in place during the closure period.

The original £5m project also included restoring the building’s major features, including a domed ceiling and sweeping balcony.

VIP guests were welcomed to the opening event with champagne and canapes and entertainment from stilt walkers and fire performers.

But just eight weeks later, the casino closed and employees including croupiers, bar and restaurant staff were put out of work.

Casino Red chief executive Nicholas Boyes-Hunter said the business had been “dealt a cruel hand” when banks withdrew funding as a reaction to the onset of the credit crunch.

He said new casino projects around the world collapsed as banks picked on “soft targets” for cutbacks in investment.

“If we had been simply a bar and restaurant, we would have cut our overheads and carried on,” he said.

“But as a casino, we were obliged under the terms of our licence to have a substantial gaming reserve amounting to a seven-figure sum.”

Mr Boyes-Hunter said the economic climate made it impossible to find alternative backing as quickly as he had hoped.

“Having to close so soon after opening had been one of the hardest moments in his career,” he said.

“We had a fantastic team of people at the casino. There were many tears.

“It has been upsetting returning to the venue when we were closed, but now I can’t wait for us to re-open.

“We have been recruiting staff such as croupiers, bar staff and restaurant staff. We have made approaches to some of our former staff and we expect to have some of them back on board.”

Mr Boyes-Hunter said the casino had been very popular during the 57 days it was open.

“We had over 11,000 new registrations and averaged over 300 people a night with 700-plus on Saturdays,” he said.

“I am sure it will be very successful again. It was designed as a multi-purpose venue, including screening sports events such as boxing, football and rugby.

“We have spent a bit of time tweaking things and we can’t wait for it to re-open.”