There is no shortage of companies angling to win the single casino license available in the Greek-controlled southern half of Cyprus, including a Beverly Hills-based realty company.
Realty Group International (RGI) is eyeing a major casino investment in the Mediterranean island and already has a plan in place should it take hold of the casino license. Part of that plan includes an initial pre-established consortium made up of “prominent institutions” and “key people” that are ready to proceed into the bidding process.
The company is the only US-based real estate company with a significant presence in Cyprus. It already owns several large plots of land that can be used to develop a project of this magnitude, including one of the largest beachfront parcels in the island, located across the coastal area of Larnaka. According to RGI, the property includes over 1.2 million square feet of buildable posts and 1 million square feet of tourist zone areas that can be converted into a number of attractions, including a golf course, water and theme parks, a 900-room five-star hotel and a handful of conference centers.
RGI has as a lot of competition as 13 other companies have expressed interest in the casino license on the island.
FRANCE PLANNING PARIS CASINO?
In France, French authorities are reportedly looking into legislative reforms that could lead to a casino opening in Paris. According French newspaper, Le Parisien, the Ministry of Internal Affairs appointed Jean-Pierre Duport to prepare a study to determine the viability of a casino in the country’s capital. The study will make a recommendation on whether the French capital would be a viable location to open a casino or if gaming in Paris should be handled by “cercles”, a network of gaming rooms similar to the recently shuttered Aviation Club de France and the Circle Cadet.
What’s clear is that French authorities want a more transparent relationship with gaming operators, far from the opacity that shrouded gambling operations in the past from the government, which eventually forced a number of raids and closures of these gambling houses.
