City of Dreams to open in mid-2022
A new Cyprus casino is expected to open in mid-2022, according to Melco Resorts and Entertainment.
Gambling Insider reports the City of Dreams Mediterranean, located in Limassol, is set to be Europe’s largest integrated resort and was supposed to open its doors in late 2021, but the opening has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The integrated resort will feature a 16-storey, five-star hotel with approximately 500 rooms, an outdoor amphitheatre, a family adventure park and various retail and food venues.
The property is said to also include 10,000 square metres of meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition space.
“Construction work is progressing smoothly and even though the coronavirus outbreak has impacted our original timeline, we remain committed to this ground breaking project,” property general manager of City of Dreams Meditteranean and Cyprus Casinos Grant Johnson said.
“We aim to establish a unique destination, offering a premium entertainment experience to our greats while creating real value for the country’s economy and society.
“City of Dreams Mediterranean is set to enrich Cyprus’ tourism landscape, attracting an additional 300,000 visitors per year to the island.”
In the released statement, the company expressed confidence the integrated resort would help offset the recent lack of seasonal tourism in Cyprus, as well as create thousands of jobs.
Cyprus casino opening delayed until 2022
The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have forced plans to open a new casino in Cyprus back another year.
Casino.org reported in February that the opening of the City of Dreams Mediterranean, which was set to become Europe’s largest casino resort, has been delayed until 2022.
Its parent company Melco Resorts confirmed the delay.
Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Commission Vice President Phidias Pilides informed the Cyprus parliament in February that the casino is targeting the third quarter of 2022 for its commencement.
The US$667 million development was originally set to open by the end of 2021.
Pilides revealed that Melco Resorts encountered supply chain delays caused by the coronavirus and construction has commenced at a slower rate.
Despite the pushback in City of Dreams welcoming guests in Cyprus, Melco told officials in the Mediterranean island nation that 2021 will still be a good year for the tourism and gaming industries.
As more than half of a billion-dollar integrated casino resort is being built, Melco has opened a temporary satellite casino in Limassol, plus satellite gaming facilities in Nicosia, Larnaca, Paphos and Ayia Napa.
Melco’s gaming licence for City of Dreams is good for 30 years and includes a monopoly on gambling for the first 15 years.
The licence began in 2017.
Though COVID-19 devastated gross gaming revenues at the casinos in 2020, Melco expects gaming to rebound quickly.
“In the middle of June, operations at Cyprus casinos partially reopened,” CEO Lawrence Ho said.
“We saw a swift return of domestic gaming demand, which drove the return of our third quarter gaming revenues to approximately 75 per cent of last year’s level.”
“We continue to expect a faster rebound and faster growth in the premium gaming segments,” Ho added.
Melco Resorts said by the end of 2021, it will employ approximately 1400 casino employees at its four satellites and temporary casino in Limassol.
