{"id":48979,"date":"2017-04-24T16:03:01","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T23:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=48979"},"modified":"2017-04-24T16:04:19","modified_gmt":"2017-04-24T23:04:19","slug":"melco-hard-rocks-cyprus-casino-awaits-lift-off-full-approval-imminent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/melco-hard-rocks-cyprus-casino-awaits-lift-off-full-approval-imminent\/","title":{"rendered":"Melco-Hard Rock\u2019s Cyprus Casino Awaits Lift Off, Full Approval Imminent"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Melco<\/a>-Hard Rock consortium is set to bring casinos to the Republic of Cyprus.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Cyprus\u2019 Tourism Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis announced the evaluation process was complete, and, pending ratification by the country\u2019s cabinet, work will soon begin on the construction of a $550 million \u201cEuro Casino\u201d resort in the city of Limassol.<\/p>\n

\"Melco-Hard
An artist\u2019s rendering of the Republic of Cyprus\u2019 first casino resort, a joint effort between Melco International Development and Hard Rock Resorts, to be completed in 2020. (Image: Melco-Hard Rock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It will be the republic\u2019s first, but not the island\u2019s. Since Turkey invaded the north in 1974, Cyprus has been divided into north and south, ethnically and politically Turkish and Greek, respectively, separated by a United Nations buffer zone.<\/p>\n

There are several dozen casinos and gaming halls in the north, and even within the buffer zone itself, but casino gaming is brand new territory for the south.<\/p>\n

Secret Bidding Process<\/b><\/h2>\n

The republic enacted a bill to legalize casino gaming in 2015, creating one license to operate a single casino resort and a number of smaller satellite casinos. As a major European tourist hub, competition was fierce, and the tender process curiously secretive.<\/p>\n

While the Cypriot government kept the names of bidders under wraps, it\u2019s believed that, along with Hard Rock and Melco, the likes of Nagacorp, Boomberry, Genting, Caesars<\/a> and Sun International were also in the running.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The consortium has said it expects to secure a 30-year licensing agreement that will allow it to operate a casino monopoly in the republic for the first 15 years.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It hopes to open a temporary casino in Limassol in October 2017, while the work begins on the Euro Casino resort, which is scheduled to open in 2020. The completed Euro Casino will boast 500 luxury hotel rooms and at least 100 gaming tables and 1,000 slots.<\/p>\n

Network of Gaming Venues to Follow<\/b><\/h2>\n

The consortium says that should the temporary casino in Limassol prove successful, it will consider opening a\u00a0\u201cnetwork of gambling premises,\u201d including a casino in the divided capital city of Nicosia, supported by slot parlors in Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta.<\/p>\n

Lakkotrypis made the announcement during the island\u2019s travel and tourism exhibition, Taxidi 2017, as he discussed planned improvements to the country\u2019s tourism and travel sector.<\/p>\n

A record number of visitors are expected this summer and he admitted investment in infrastructure was needed to avoid some of the airport delays witnessed last year.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur ultimate goal, through well-thought-out, coordinated actions, is to enhance the quality and diversify our tourism product,\u201d he said. \u201cTo this end, we continue to enrich our experience, for example by promoting investments in major projects such as golf courses, marinas and the integrated casino resort.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Melco-Hard Rock consortium is set to bring casinos to the Republic of Cyprus. On Friday, Cyprus\u2019 Tourism Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis announced the evaluation process was complete, and, pending ratification by the country\u2019s cabinet, work will soon begin on the construction of a $550 million \u201cEuro Casino\u201d resort in the city of Limassol. It will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":48980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMelco-Hard Rock\u2019s Cyprus Casino Awaits Lift Off, Full Approval Imminent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Republic of Cyprus\u2019 first casino resort is about to be approved by the government, offering Melco-Hard Rock a 15-year monopoly on casino gaming in the European tourist hub.\u00a0 \u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/melco-hard-rocks-cyprus-casino-awaits-lift-off-full-approval-imminent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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