The Luxury Travel Magazine
The Luxury Travel Magazine
A few steps away from the glittering lanterns of Chinatown and the dazzling lights of the West End, there’s a slice of heritage to be found. An iconic venue that has seen Harry Houdini, Judy Garland, and Dame Shirley Bassey perform under its iconic roof. Once housing the famous ‘Talk of the Town’ nightclub, these days it is London’s biggest and fanciest casino as well as the venue of the hit West End musical Magic Mike. This is The London Hippodrome.
Housed in a fine building above Leicester Square tube station, The Hippodrome is a stone’s throw away from Piccadilly Circus on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Cranbourn Street. Today, it is a large casino and theatre with three floors of gambling, two restaurants, private dining rooms, and eight bars, including a lounge bar, secret bar, theatre and a roof terrace overlooking theatreland.
If walls could talk then the London Hippodrome’s certainly would have a few tales to tell. This iconic venue was built by Frank Matcham in 1900. It cost £250,000 to erect, the equivalent of around £31 million in today’s money and was commissioned by Moss Empires, also responsible for the London Palladium, Liverpool’s Empire Theatre, and Edinburgh’s Empire Palace Theatre. The opening night saw a 100,000-gallon pool with elephants, polar bears and carriages pulled by racing teams of horses and Charlie Chaplin perform Little Titch. Harry Houdini performed centre stage in 1904. Furthermore, the venue staged the country’s first-ever performance of Swan Lake. In the 1950s the Hippodrome was transformed into the legendary ‘Talk of the Town’, by theatre impresarios Bernard Delfont and Charles Forte. Major stars like Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jnr and Tom Jones performed. Dame Shirley Bassey had a residency here from 1962 until 1972 and she returned to celebrate her 86th birthday here. After various reincarnations, including a nightclub under the management of Peter Stringfellow, in 2008, the venue returned to its roots as a circus venue for burlesque cabaret La Clique, until that closed in June 2009. Then the Thomas family bought it and spent years renovating and transforming the site into the UK’s largest and most popular casino and entertainment venue. Under Simon Thomas’s ownership, this world-class entertainment venue is a vibrant casino and home to the award-winning Magic Mike Singing and Dance show directed by Hollywood actor Channing Tatum.
Showbusiness is in the Thomas family’s blood as they were once travelling showmen. John (Simon’s grandfather) and his wife Doris, toured the UK until they decided to settle down. They had three sons and Jimmy (Simon’s father) decided to break away and set roots down in Loughborough when he met his wife Alma. In 1963 he founded Showboat Amusements, comprising Beacon Bingo in Loughborough. He sold this in 1987, the same year his son Simon left university. However, Simon didn’t immediately follow his father into the family business and instead became a merchant banker at Singer & Friedlander Plc in the City of London where he had the opportunity to learn finance and business. It turned out to be a fantastic grounding for re-joining the family firm.
Simon remarked, “My father had preserved a few arcades and a bingo hall for the next generation. I returned in 1989 after a brief stint in merchant banking, and it was a very fast learning curve, starting as a joint managing director with a now-former brother-in-law.”
“In the 1980s, bingo was strictly regulated and there was no live entertainment promotion or advertising. Before you could enter, you had to be a member for a day. As soon as I got started, bingo was deregulated, so I created my first bingo hall in Loughborough at the former Odeon, a dilapidated theatre where 300 elderly women were playing “housey housey” for five pounds a go. I also started a bingo hall in Cricklewood which is still going strong today.
“It included 2,700 seats, three bars, restaurants, cabaret stages, a licence for weddings, a licence for movies, 265 slot machines and 800 parking spots. Between 1999 and 2001, while serving as president of the industry trade association, my father and I had a 50/50 joint venture. When it was obvious to me that bingo would be badly affected because of the imminent smoking act meant people would be going outside to smoke, we concluded that the moment had come to sell our bingo halls.
Although Simon’s family is originally rooted in the small market town of Loughborough in Leicestershire, he currently resides in London, thus it made it natural for him to take over some of the city’s most recognisable locations. “London is the world’s most amazing city. “This is a bustling place where a lot happens, making it ideal for me to grow a business. Tens of millions of people use Leicester Square tube station each year, and a quarter of a million people pass by The Hippodrome every day. The Hippodrome’s history captivated me. My father and I had our eye on it for a while and then a lot of planets aligned as the Hippodrome lease came available at the same time as we had sold our family business.” This time though Simon became the majority shareholder in the new venture.
Yet even though they had their dream business, Simon admits the road ahead was tough: “I had many sleepless nights, but I have a very simple philosophy in life that when faced with a problem you only have three choices: you accept, you change, or you walk away. Well walking away was not an option. When Hannibal asked how he was how he would get elephants over the Alps, he said I’ll find a way or make a way and we had two impossible challenges during the build. Two grade two listed buildings in the middle of Westminster with the largest opening at the side of a double fire door. Lots of times we had to find or make a way. We developed it and opened it in July 2012.
Simon shares: “I’m frequently asked if it’s what I expected it to be, and the answer is yes—it was always meant to be a mixed-use entertainment facility. I doubt I could have ever envisioned the scope and significance of our accomplishments. In our first ten years, we have served 15.2 million clients, and we are well-known throughout the world. We are constantly striving to keep people entertained while also expanding and growing.”
It is spectacular inside the Hippodrome. After entering, you’ll pass a large red phone box, a glass cabinet with mementoes left by the wealthy and famous, such as Audrey Hepburn and a display that shows the building’s history. Proceeding on, you reach the lobby and gaming area, where the first thing that strikes you upon entering is a 60-foot atrium reminiscent of a Victorian theatre, the main room is very much the same as when it first opened thanks to restoration work.
You can find more than 80,000 square feet of entertainment area distributed across seven storeys. Decide between Heliot Steakhouse, which won prizes for having the “best steak in the West End” because of the outstanding work of general manager Salvatore Russo, executive chef Ioannis Grammenos, and their wonderful staff. It bears the name of Claire Heliot, the German lion tamer who made headlines in 1901 when she appeared at the Hippodrome. There is also another restaurant called Permission.
On the lower ground floor is a modern Chinese restaurant called Chop Chop by Four Seasons at The Hippodrome. The Financial Times called the roast duck the best in the and the restaurant’s premium dim sum, which includes several vegan options, are just a few of the delicacies on the menu that pay homage to historic Hong Kong through its interior design by Rachel O’Toole. visit for a drink and a steak on the roof. Afterwards, guests might return to play poker with a friend or take their partner to watch Magic Mike. Numerous individuals are engaged in various activities within the building. There is just incredible energy, enthusiasm, and a buzz from the mix.
You’ll find several hidden secrets in the building and more to come, as the venue is currently building a concealed bar behind a vending machine. There is also a 200-cover restaurant and bar on the theatre roof terrace complementing the existing bar which is a calm oasis overlooking theatreland. There is a 2500-person legal capacity, which is kept to 1,300 to ensure comfort for customers. The Hippodrome accounts for 10 per cent of the UK market out of the 120 casinos in the country so it’s like having twelve tiny casinos housed in one structure.
“We operate at about the same degree of hospitality as three or four restaurants and possibly a dozen bars. The village is large. Now that I can, I continue to create it, enhance it, and truly love doing so, said Simon.
They launched Pokerstars LIVE on March 4, 2013, a joint venture between the Hippodrome and Pokerstars, the biggest online poker room in the world. Pokerstars LIVE was formerly located on the fourth floor, however, it moved to the third floor in 2020.
The legacy of the venue still lives on too. “I still own the name Talk of the Town. When Renee Zellweger played Judy Garland in Judy when she performed at Talk of the Town, they had to ask me to use the name The Talk of the Town, so I get a credit on an Oscar-winning movie because of that. The Talk of the Town closed fifty years ago so the essence is stronger than ever. At one time the artist formerly known as Prince asked if he could use the theatre before he died. We have had Dire Straits here, Dionne Warwick and Joss Stone.”
However, these days it is the talk of the town for another reason, the incredible Magic Mike Live London—a tale about some male strippers which captivated Hollywood as a film and later was developed and produced by Channing Tatum one of the blockbusters’ main actors. The live show is packed every night even after five and a half years and it promises to be a wild night out. There are ten performances across five days a week. Simon explains: “Magic Mike was something we jumped at the chance to acquire. The performance is sultry, witty, fierce, respectful, and passionate. It has amazing choreography and talented performers who can also act, acrobat, dance, and sing.”
Overall, the Hippodrome is a fabulous London venue with prestige, history and glamour galore. It is an exciting place for a night out at the casino, going for a meal, and seeing a West End show. Make the Hippodrome the highlight of your next trip to London.
