Cyprus parliament approves casino bill

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Cyprus parliament passed legislation last Thursday paving the way for a first-ever casino resort in the government-held south of the Mediterranean island. The minimum requirement for the complex is 100 gaming tables and 1,000 machines. In addition, the operator will be permitted to have a smaller satellite casino, and another three-machine-only outlet.

The project is being fast-tracked to boost tourism and employment on the island, and it is estimated 25,000 jobs will be created by the integrated resort development.

Commenting on the situation, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides, said: “Procedures are going ahead fast and the government’s aim is to select and license the operator of the Integrated Resort Casino in less than a year from today. This will be one of the most important infrastructure projects in Cyprus in coming years.”

The winning bidder for the 30-year license will choose where to build the casino and the government hopes it could be open by 2018 if everything goes smoothly.

This “Super Casino” is projected to include malls, restaurants, shopping and entertainment venues unlike any other in the EU or the Middle East and will rival some of the casinos currently seen in Las Vegas and is expected to attract an additional half to one million tourists a year.

RGI, a U.S. realty company based in Beverly Hills, CA, is currently focused on their properties in Cyprus and has put together a casino proposal package which includes an initial pre-established consortium. The consortium consists of prominent institutions and key people already in place for any interested party to easily proceed into the bidding process. With several large plots of land and over 1 million sq ft on their books available for purchase for such a project; RGI is profiling their largest beachfront parcel that is eligible for the casino development.

Located across a prime coastal area and sitting upon a beachfront plot of Larnaka, boasting over 3.5 million sq feet of land, this property including over 1,200,000 sq ft of buildable plots with over 1,000,000 sq feet of tourist zone areas to be utilized for a golf course, gardens, water attractions, horseback riding, canals now with the new casino law passed by parliament, allows developers to increase the buildable land area up to 250%.

Approximately 150 meters from the sea and 4km from the airport (noise study available), this is potentially the largest piece of land with road access that features the natural “Salt Lake” famous for the “Flamingo” migration each year. Some estimates, per the original appraisal, were for accommodations for a 900 room 5-star hotel, conference centers and large tourist attraction areas.

But, with this new law in effect for the casino resort and the 250% buildable allowance increase, this property now has the potential for an approximate 3k-4k room resort. This parcel of real estate, in Larnaka, has just become a front runner for one of the prime locations to accommodate a casino resort of this magnitude.

As the first and only American real estate company working in Cyprus, Realty Group International (RGI) has teamed up with key alliances on the island to ensure their clients the ability to provide the support needed for a project of this magnitude.