Eurovegas in Spain on the cards

APRIL or May will be the deciding date for whether a glistening casino strip will be built in Madrid or Barcelona. Las Vegas Sands is still mulling over where the potential gaming hotspot should be placed.

According to various reports, the company, owned by US billionaire Sheldon Adelson, is in talks with officials from Spain’s two biggest cities to build the complex which reportedly will have six casinos, 12 hotels, nine theatres and three golf courses.

The project — dubbed “Eurovegas” — will create 261,000 direct and indirect jobs in a country with a jobless rate of just under 23 per cent and it has been welcomed by politicians in both cities.

The casino plans have also met with some fierce opposition. A citizens group called “Eurovegas No” has campaigned against the complex, stating it would mark a return to an economic model based on excessive building which led to Spain’s economic downturn when a property bubble collapsed in 2008.

“Madrid is more of a business destination and Barcelona is more touristic but either one could get it. Economically the two cities are very similar,” Las Vegas Sands president Michael Leven told the daily newspaper El Mundo.

“Barcelona is a little bit behind because we started studying the project with Madrid. We will probably make our decision in April or May.

“We are still negotiating the land. We are talking about more than 400 hectares that will include golf courses, possibly stadiums, tennis courts, theatres. It will take ten years to complete the project,” he added to the Associated Press.

The first phase of the project would involve the construction of 12,000 hotel rooms and other infrastructure for between 6.8 and 7.6 billion euros ($9.0 and 10.1 billion).