GGRAsia – CoD Mediterranean in Cyprus public launch July 10: Melco

CoD Mediterranean in Cyprus public launch July 10: Melco

May 12, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World

The City of Dreams Mediterranean casino resort, developed by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd with local partners in the Republic of Cyprus, will have a soft launch for “hotel and invited guests” from June 12, followed by its opening to the general public on July 10, said Melco Resorts in a Friday press release.

The property (pictured in an artist’s rendering), in the beach resort of Limassol, will have 500 guest rooms and suites. It will have a 7,500 square-metre (80,729 sq. foot) casino, offering a range of table games, slot machines, a poker area and a facility called “Platinum Club” for VIP gamblers, according to the statement.

Non-gaming features are to include: 8,000 sq. ms of indoor and outdoor event space; a ballroom that can accommodate over 1,000 guests, meeting rooms and a “Roman-style amphitheatre”; and a pool complex called Adventure Park said to have facilities for children.

As of October last year, the hotel-room booking engine for City of Dreams Mediterranean was already open, with reservations being accepted for June this year onward, according to GGRAsia’s checks at the time.

“A landmark project of our first venture in Europe, it will bring Melco’s award-winning standards of entertainment and leisure, and welcome innovation to Cyprus’ luxury hotel scene,” said the property’s general manager Grant Johnson, in prepared remarks included in the Friday release.

The group also runs casino resorts in Macau, and one in the Philippines. Melco Resorts mentioned in its 2022 annual report, filed on March 31, a budget of “US$575 million to US$600 million” for City of Dreams Mediterranean.

While it was building its Cyprus flagship, Melco Resorts has been running a “temporary casino” in Limassol under the branding “C2”. Under the terms of its licence, it is also running satellite casinos under that branding, in the settlements of Nicosia, Ayia Napa, and Paphos.

“The operational results of our temporary and satellite casinos have proven that there is strong demand in Cyprus,” said Melco Resorts’ chairman and chief executive Lawrence Ho Yau Lung during the firm’s conference call with analysts on Wednesday to discuss the group’s first-quarter 2023 earnings.

Mr Ho added on Wednesday: “We’re excited to open City of Dreams Mediterranean in mid-June and showcase our expertise with the first integrated resort of its kind in the region.”

In February the then-president of the Republic of Cyprus said he expected the launch of City of Dreams Mediterranean to bring “obvious benefits to the country’s economy”, helping to increase tourist arrivals and create new jobs.