Melco International Development has opened the doors to the first of four satellite casinos on the island of Cyprus, as development of its City of Dreams Mediterranean complex continues.
Cyprus Casinos Nicosia, also known as C2 Nicosia, officially debuted this week, and becomes the first of four such establishments allowed, due to an exclusive agreement with the country’s Government with construction of the €550m integrated resort on-going.
This move follows a similar such launch earlier in the year, as Melco unveiled its temporary C2 Limassol property, designed as a stand in until the City of Dreams Mediterranean is complete in the western area of the city.
Occupying a total area of 970-square-metres and following a similar interior design to its Limassol counterpart, C2 Nicosia features five live tables and 50 slot machines and vows customers are to enjoy a “high-quality experience”.
The second satellite casino to be opened is the C2 Larnaca, located at Larnaca International Airport – Glafcos Clerides later this month, and is set to be followed by further establishments within Famagusta and Paphos.
Craig Ballantyne, property president of City of Dreams Mediterranean and Cyprus Casinos, lauded the “significant” contribution that C2 is to make in the “efforts of the Cypriot government to combat illegal gaming,” before highlighting the benefits to the region: “100 people have been employed at the location in Nicosia, bringing the total number of Melco staff in Cyprus to over 700 individuals, the vast majority being Cypriot citizens.”
City of Dreams Mediterranean is pencilled into open its doors in early 2021, and is billed as Europe’s biggest integrated casino resort.
It’s gaming area is set be installed with 36 tables and 1,200 gaming machines, with the complex also featuring a five-star hotel with luxurious villas and 500 hotel rooms, 11 restaurants and cafeterias, a wellness centre, a sports centre, an extensive pool area with river woods and surf pools, a high-end retail area and an outdoor amphitheatre with extensive green areas.
An additional 300,000 tourists are expected to be attracted as a direct result of the construction, with the financial impact on the Cypriot economy to be felt to the tune of approximately €700m per year, around four per cent of annual GDP.
