Europe's largest casino opens in Cyprus

The "City of Dreams" resort, a luxurious hotel and casino, was inaugurated on Tuesday in the city of Limassol, in southern Cyprus. It presents itself as the "largest in Europe" and aims to attract over 300,000 additional tourists to the Mediterranean island annually.

The hotel and entertainment complex, comprising 14 floors, features 500 rooms and suites overlooking the city and the sea. It includes long and winding swimming pools, sports facilities, and an outdoor amphitheater. During the opening ceremony on Tuesday, American real estate developer Grant Johnson announced that "this complex is the largest of its kind in Europe."

After three years of construction and investments of over €637 million, this complex "provides Cyprus with the opportunity to become a leading tourist destination," according to Lawrence Ho, Chairman of Melco Group in Hong Kong, the company behind the project. He added that this project "allows Cyprus to access new markets in Africa and the Middle East."

During the opening ceremony, Ho mentioned that the idea of building the resort in Limassol occurred to him when he visited the coastal city 16 years ago to attend a wedding. He explained that he wanted to create a "hotel where James Bond would want to stay."

After years of planning, the casino was constructed on a 7,500 square meter area, equipped with 100 gaming tables and a thousand ready-to-use gambling machines.

The luxurious hotel is designed to accommodate affluent guests, with room rates ranging from €425 to €2,300 per night during the tourist season.

The complex, which is Melco's first venture outside of Asia, employs around 5,000 people.

This luxury hotel-casino aspires to transform the island into a year-round upscale tourist destination and a world-class entertainment center. Ho stated that "Cyprus is now ready to compete with Europe and the Middle East in luxury tourism."

Casinos were legalized in Cyprus in 2015.

In addition to the dominant Orthodox Church in Cyprus, the legislation of casinos faced opposition from some members of the population, including former communist President Dimitris Christofias (2008-2013), who claimed that they would promote corruption.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2019 was a record year for tourism in Cyprus, with 3.97 million tourists spending €2.68 billion.

This sector is a major driver of the island's economy, contributing approximately 15% to the Gross Domestic Product.



AFP