With casino operator The Star Entertainment Group just weeks away from possible collapse, chief executive Steve McCann has no time for philosophical questions about the future of the industry.

As a geek and former 3D artist, he has fallen in love with it, likening it to the Star Trek holodeck, which allowed crew members to enter holographic 3D simulations of real and imaginary spaces.

In 2007, the former soap star was sacked from his lead pantomime role in Jack and the Beanstalk - in which he was playing Jack - when he swore at a crowd in Preston during a Christmas Lights ...