Melco Crown Entertainment has been exploring the casino market outside Macau but Cyprus is not part of the plan.
Earlier this week, rumors flew that Melco Crown, along with Bloomberry Resorts and Hard Rock International, were the companies short-listed by the Greek-controlled half of Cyprus to build an authorized integrated casino resort.
However, Melco Crown denied the news and a spokesperson told Business Daily that the company has no plan for Cyprus.
Melco Crown has expanded its gaming business outside Macau following the gaming downturn. Last year, the company launched City of Dreams Manila in the Philippines, while Melco Crown partner Lawrence Ho launched the Tigre de Cristal casino near Vladivostok, Russia via his Summit Ascent firm.
In July, Cyprus approved a bill that will bring the first casino to the Greek-controlled southern half of the island. When the invitation to submit interest was issued on September 18, media speculated that international giants Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment would bid for the license. Bloomberry Resorts confirmed its interest but Genting Malaysia and Sun International withdrew their bids.
Cypriot permanent secretary of the commerce ministry Stelios Himonas asked members of parliament to approve the final rules and regulations regarding the casino resort by next month in order to prepare for the next round of the bidding competition in which only three of eight contenders will remain.
“We have started the evaluation of applications. We will be ready in a month to proceed with the proposal for the three,” said Himonas.
The three bidders will be called on to submit a detailed proposal of their respective projects. The government plans to issue the license within the year and to launch the casino resort in approximately two years’ time.
Although the government hasn’t released a list of names, various local insider sources have mentioned three frontrunners including Hard Rock International, Sun International, and French conglomerate Bouygues.
The winning project will receive a license for 30 years with an exclusivity period for the first 15 years. The integrated casino and resort will be required to feature a five-star hotel with at least 500 rooms, a minimum of 100 gaming tables and 1,000 slot machines.
According to estimates from The Ministry of Commerce, Tourism and Industry, the casino resort is expected to add 500,000 tourists to the island’s current 2.4m annual visitors, in addition to creating hundreds of job opportunities.
