SIMPLY Red star Mick Hucknall could be a major winner after Manchester hit the supercasino jackpot. He has emerged as a major shareholder at Ask Property Developments - part of the consortium chosen by the city council in 2004 to build the supercasino.

Under new gambling laws, Manchester will have to reopen the contest after it beat competition from Blackpool and the Millennium Dome to be granted the sole licence for a supercasino.

Ask and consortium partners, Kerzner International, are likely to face stiff competition, but are still expected to be among the favourites if they decide to lodge a new bid. Hucknall has a 17 per cent stake in Ask.

Ask were involved in controversy after the 2004 race when the M.E.N. revealed they had donated é5,000 to the local Labour Party weeks before their consortium was given the nod as the preferred bidder for the supercasino.

The donation was logged with the Electoral Commission and there was no suggestion the bid was chosen on anything other than its merits. The decision to choose Ask-Kerzner was based on an independent assessment of five shortlisted bids and the process was scrutinised by accountancy firm KPMG. But critics said the Manchester Central Constituency Labour Party should not have accepted the cash.

Both Manchester council leader Sir Richard Leese and deputy leader Jim Battle were reported to the Standards Board over the issue. Both were cleared of breaching the code of ethics for councillors.