Casino college's official opening

Students will take courses in roulette, blackjack and poker

The UK's first gaming academy, to teach trainee croupiers the tricks of the trade, was officially opened in Lancashire on Wednesday.

Blackpool and The Fylde College has built its own training casino in the resort, earmarked to benefit from the government's gambling law reforms.

Courses ranging from GCSE to foundation courses for degrees will be available to students aged over 18.

Students will learn skills such as operating a roulette wheel and table.

Regeneration plan

Some will train as super croupiers and others as slot machine engineers.

The project has been backed by gaming company Gala Casinos.

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The college is also set to receive the Beacon Award, a Centre for Excellence in Leadership award for innovation in curriculum leadership development.

Blackpool Borough Council produced a "Masterplan" in 2003, which relies on the introduction of new gambling laws.

It hopes the introduction of the Gaming Bill will help it transform the town into a world class resort.

The council has drawn up a £1.4bn regeneration plan which envisages five new super-casinos, creating 30,000 new jobs and an annual income of £437m.