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Prescott Under Scrutiny As Dome Tops Bid

John Prescott is in a fresh bind after the Casino Advisory Panel ranked the Millennium Dome no. 1 in the race to the super casino license in its preliminary assessment.

The Greenwich site is one of the 8 short listed venues to host Britain's first super casino. The deputy prime minister has been under heavy criticism for his apparent lobbying for the Dome, owned by Philip Anschutz. Prescott and Anschutz have been linked together controversially because of the DPM's visit to the latter's ranch in the US.

Prescott has been accused of "fixing" the casino selection process, and he has also been accused of compromising the whole procedure by shadow culture secretary Hugo Swire.

Prescott has been reprimanded by the Commons sleaze watchdog Sir Philip Mawer for failing to declare the ranch visit and the cowboy outfit given to him by Anschutz during the time.

The deputy prime minister has adamantly denied having any hand in the casino selection process, a statement that has been widely derided by his critics.

When the final figures were tallied on the Casino Advisory Panel assessment, the Greenwich bid for came out on top, with 67 points out of a possible 80. One point below gave Glasgow second place, while Blackpool placed third with 65 points. A final decision will be taken by the end of the year and proposed to the government.