8 am. Over the eight years it was open, it reputedly had over one million people through its doors. Wigan Council owned the building and wanted to extend the nearby Civic Centre, but short of funding, it never went ahead. The club closed on 6 December 1981; that final night of Wigan Casino in its Northern soul state was DJ'd by Winstanley, and the '3 before 8' were played three times consecutively at the end of the night. The crowd refused to leave; according to Winstanley, to "break this spell of hysteria", he picked a 7" at random from his box and played that. This final Wigan Casino song became one of the most famous Northern soul songs of all time, Frank Wilson's "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)". Annual reunions are held in Wigan and Blackpool hosted by various original DJs. The Casino is commemorated with a Blue plaque, which was installed in 2014, marking the place where the doors to the club once stood. The site is now occupied by the Grand Arcade shopping centre, which pays homage to the club with its Casino Café. See also Casino Classics: Chapter One (1979) References Further reading Shaw, Dave. Casino. Bee Cool Publishing, . The Northern Soul Top 500, Setting the Record Straight by Richard Searling, Soul Survivors by Dave Nowell. External links For Dancers Only The story of Wigan Casino by Chris Hunt, published in Mojo Collections magazine, Spring 2002 History of the Twisted Wheel Club Wigan Casino: I'm On My Way – Grand Arcade Nightclubs in England Soul music Buildings and structures in Wigan