on’s Hippodrome Casino is celebrating its first year in business.

The Leicester Square venue officially opened on 13 July 2012 following a £40m redevelopment project.

The casino, the largest in London, launched last summer with 15 roulette tables, 12 baccarat tables and eight blackjack tables, among other gaming opportunities, with gambling space totalling 56,000 sq ft of the 90,000 sq ft building.

Father and son ownership team Jimmy and Simon Thomas have enjoyed a successful opening 12 months, seeing double the amount of visitors forecast.

To mark its birthday weekend the Hippodrome hosted a gathering of 100 specially invited guests on 11th July, including industry friends such as Gambling Insider.

The casino is also celebrating its birthday with a range of gaming promotions and food & drink offers over the weekend, as well as a selection of musical entertainment.

In an interview with Gambling Insider last year, Jimmy Thomas outlined his ambition to change people’s perception of casinos.

“People have suddenly found that a casino is not a taboo place where only the chosen few dare walk in,” he said.

“They’ve found now it’s a very pleasant environment where they enjoy coming, and it’s taken away all the stigma or bad feeling that people had about casinos.”

He also made it clear that customers were welcome to visit even if they didn’t intend to gamble.

“A lot of people come here and don’t game - they come for a night out, the entertainment.

We know we’ve probably got the best restaurants in London, and if people want to come and eat and drink and see a show, we’re delighted.”