HOTEL magnate Sir Reo Stakis - who opened Scotland’s first casino on his way to building a massive personal fortune - died yesterday. He was 88. Sir Reo was only 14 when he left his home in Cyprus in 1928 and headed for the UK - with just a suitcase full of lace goods made by his mother and £50 in his pocket. The future could have been so different if a railway official hadn’t managed to retrieve the case when it was stolen at London’s Victoria Station.  

Reunited with the case, the young Reo sold the lace goods after knocking on doors in London and became a travelling salesman, sending money and orders for more products back to Cyprus. He gradually moved north, perplexed by the noise of London, and made his name after settling in Glasgow. He built his empire from the ground up and established a huge chain of hotels and casinos, which he sold to Ladbroke’s for £1.2 billion in 1999.

Sir Reo had been unwell in recent weeks following a stroke. His family was with him when he died at 5.40am yesterday at Stirling Royal Infirmary. He was admitted to the hospital after suffering a stroke in June. A spokesman for the family said they were devastated by the loss.

He added: "It is a very sad day for them. Sir Reo came to Scotland with practically nothing and built up what turned into a highly successful hotel chain. Lady Stakis and his four daughters and two sons are upset and our thoughts must go to them at this time."

Sir Reo started his empire in Glasgow with a small restaurant in the 1940s. He opened a steakhouse in Hope Street in 1945, selling food at affordable prices. He expanded the steakhouse - called The Victory - and was credited with changing the way people dined in Scotland.

As his empire grew, Sir Reo, a teetotaller who never gambled, moved into the hotel business in the 1950s, before opening Scotland’s first casino, the Chevalier, in 1964. The cause of a 1978 fire at his flagship hotel - The Grosvenor in Glasgow - during a firefighters’ strike was never solved.

Sir Reo’s son, Andros, took over the family business in the late 1980s, but his personal style triggered rows with the senior executives, five of whom left in 1989 to set up the Macdonald Hotels group. Meanwhile, a series of disastrous strategic decisions sent the company close to folding.

Only when outside management was put in place did the company’s position improve. The man who left the tiny village of Kato Dryos, near Larnaca, to make his fortune after the death of his father was knighted in 1988. In 1999, after selling off the Hilton chain, Sir Reo said: "I take pride in the fact that I came here as a young boy to sell lace and with hard work went on to build a company which employs over 14,000 people. Scotland has been my home for over 60 years.

My children were born and educated here. But I intend to go on living here for many years to come." Sir Reo’s condition had been so serious in recent weeks that friends and neighbours who tried to visit were kept away by hospital staff. Even his chauffeur was refused admission as his condition failed to improve. Sir Reo is survived by his wife, Annitsa, six children and nine grandchildren.

His body will lie in state on Monday at St Luke’s Cathedral in Glasgow between 10am and 4pm for people wishing to pay their respects. He will be buried at Dunblane Cemetery at 2.15pm next Tuesday after a funeral at the cathedral. Sir Reo’s biographer, Jack Webster, said he was "a most unlikely entrepreneur, not at all brash or arrogant".

David Michels, the chief executive of the Hilton Group - part of the Ladbrokes Group - said: "It is with great regret I hear of Sir Reo’s death. He was a man of great foresight and humility who has left behind an indelible mark on British hospitality. "We owe him a great deal. Our thoughts go to Lady Stakis, his extended family and many friends at this very sad time."

Glasgow Lord Provost Alex Mosson said: "Sir Reo revolutionised the eating habits of generations of Glaswegians, as well as introducing good-quality, affordable hotels. "He loved Glasgow and his imagination and skill made an indelible mark on this city. He will be greatly missed."