The credit crunch has broken the bank at some of Britain's biggest casinos. In the last 12 months, nine gambling dens have closed their doors - victims of government tax increases, the smoking ban and the worsening economic climate. Gala Coral, owned by private equity firms Permira, Candover and Cinven, has shut four casinos, including its upmarket haunt in London's Picadilly Circus. Genting Stanley has shut two in Liverpool and Manchester and axed 400 staff. It is currently in a pay dispute with the GMB union.

Los Angeles (Reuters) - Some casino developers are folding in their cards as a chaotic U.S. credit market deals them a losing hand on the building boom that has turned much of the Las Vegas Strip into a construction zone. Developers are waking up to the fact that expansion is coming at the same time would-be gamblers are grappling with sky-high gasoline and airline ticket prices, while the mortgage debacle has made banks wary of overextending themselves.