Arabian Strip Casino Builders Named for UAE
Builders have been appointed for the first ever casino hotel in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
ALEC Engineering and Contracting (ALEC) – a subsidiary of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) – is the main contractor in the ambitious development. They will be assisted by German-based Bauer International for enabling work.
The luxury development, by Wynn Resorts is to be built in the capital Ras Al Khaimah’s Marian Island. RAK Hospitality Holding is another partner involved in the ground-breaking UAE venture, which is said to be around 18,500 sqm in size. Wynn Resorts already boast a 1000 sq metre casino development in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, gaming regulations are currently being devised for the Vegas-style casino hotel, which is due to open in 2025. The names ‘Arabian Strip’ and ‘Marian Strip’ have already been registered as trademarks.
Wynn Marjan, which is set to open in 2026 in Ras Al Khaimah, will be home to a casino around, according to Craig Billings, CEO of Wynn Resorts.
Abdulla Abdooli, Chief Executive Officer of Marjan, added: “To fulfil and surpass the expectations of investors and all our stakeholders, we have teamed up with the best-in-class partners for the timely completion of a project that is the largest of its kind in the Emirate’s growing hospitality sector.”
The plush Wynn Marjan resort is expected to have around 1000 bedrooms, together with a shopping mall, spa, more than 10 restaurants and conference facilities. This is in addition to a ‘gaming area.’
Wynn’s CEO Craig Billings sees a huge future ahead for developers on the luxury Marian Island.
“The casino component, where at least for some period of time we will be operating on our own, which makes it quite exciting, is shaping up to be somewhat larger than Wynn Las Vegas,” he said.
Meanwhile, a total 1.13 million tourists visited RAK last year. This exceeded the pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, and spurred the tourist authority on to aim for a tourist number of three million visitors every year.
At the same time, the government (Raktda)plans to introduce more bedrooms in the resort, bringing the total target of bedrooms in the UAE to 12,747 within the next five years. At the present moment there are considerably less, at 8,130 rooms,
In 2021, the government set out a sustainable tourism strategy with the aim of making the EAE a leader by the year 2005 when it comes to eco-tourism.
