Operator News
Cyprus – Melco on course to open temporary Cyprus casino this summer
By Phil - 23 May 2018
Melco Resorts and Entertainment CEO Lawrence Ho has confirmed that a temporary casino will be opened in Cyprus in time for the summer.
Mr. Ho will attend a groundbreaking ceremony for Cyprus’ new casino-resort on June 8.
He said: “A week before the Morpheus opens [in Macau on June 15] we are going to have a ground breaking in Cyprus. The temporary facility is due to open this summer. We are very happy and fortunate that we won the competitive bid for the licence in Cyprus.”
The temporary casino will be located in Limassol and will be followed by four satellite casinos in Nicosia, Larnaca, the Famagusta area and Paphos. City of Dreams Mediterranean is expected to open in 2021 in Zakaki, west of Limassol. The permanent resort will include a gaming area with 136 tables and 1,200 gaming machines and 9,600 square metres of MICE facilities (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions). It has been styled on the old town Nicosia area with the aim of a village feel.
Mr. Ho believes it will attract 300,000 tourists per year and creating around 11,000 jobs. It will cost €550m and to create approximately 4,000 jobs annually during the construction period. When it is fully operational, the casino is expected to generate approximately 4,500 direct and indirect full time jobs.
PriceWaterHouse Cooper pitches the impact to Cyprus’ economy after the casino’s second year of operation will reach approximately €700m per year, around four per cent of the country’s annual GDP.
“Growing tourism in Cyprus is our number one priority,” Mr. Ho added. “We really do live and die by our efforts to be different.”
