Caesars in pole position for Cyprus casino resort

Reliable sources close to the Cyprus casino resort development say that Caesars Entertainment is almost certain to be the operator to be approved to build the casino resort on the island once the government rubber stamp the vote to approve gambling on the southern part of Cyprus.

It is also known that Tony Boyd Caesars UK Group Operations Director who has worked for the company for many years is now located in Cyprus to oversee the first stages of the development.

More than one source says that Genting and Caesars were the only two serious contenders for the bidding of the resort but Genting have pulled out because they could not negotiate a lower cost for building the resort.

At one stage there were four contenders for the casino license in the south of the country with Kerzner International, Genting, MGM and Caesars all in the mix for the first ever legal license to be issued in the country.
With the expectation that the license will be issued to the winning bidder by the years end many observers are questioning the proposal. The reason being is the cost the government is putting on operators to build the resort. It is understood that the winning bidder will have to stump up some 500 million euros to develop a resort. That, say observers is much too high for any operator to expect a return within 5 years most likely even ten years.

Genting is understood to have wanted to spend some 200 million euros on stage one of a resort but was refused, the preferred location for the casino resort is believed to be either Limassol or Larnaca.