Cyprus Government licensed Melco-Hard Rock Casino

The Cyprus Government grants casino licence to the consortium between Macau’s Melco and Hard Rock on Thursday 18th, to construct and operate a €500-million integrated resort in Limassol and set up satellite casinos in the other towns of the island, Nicosia, Larnaca, Famagusta, and Paphos.

It is believed that the casino resort isn’t expected to open its doors to the public before 2020 thus a temporary casino will be running soon in Limassol and a satellite casino in Nicosia until the resort is ready. The licence allows Melco-Hard Rock to exclusively operate the resort for 15 years before the possibility of another casino resort being allowed. Melco-Hard Rock will be able to operate a gambling facility for 30 years.

The announcement was made by the Commerce and Energy Minister, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis. He said “With today’s decision, the council of ministers has completed an ambitious endeavour that started about three years ago” , “This is a huge project that will enrich our tourist product and create new jobs”. As per the government, the casinos will be an attraction for 300,000 tourists per year.

This project will be generate new jobs and 4 000 people will work on the construction as it is estimated. A Coordinating Committee will oversee construction work. According to a previous article, the developer will have to make sure that the casino has at least 100 gambling tables, more than 1000 slot machines and a 500-rooms hotel.

According to reports, the location will be close to MY MALL in Limassol as it seems it is the ideal place for such a resort.