Supercasino idea sinks

British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has backed away from plans to build a Las Vegas-style supercasino in Manchester, saying there may be better ways to encourage economic growth there.

A source close to the Government said: "The regional casino is pretty much dead in the water", adding that plans for 16 new smaller casinos would be unaffected. Brown also yesterday set a target of building three million new houses in Britain by 2020 under measures to tackle a growing crisis over a shortage of affordable homes.