U.S.-based gaming operator Wynn Resorts Ltd says it has been granted the first casino licence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by the country’s General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA).
The company – the parent of Macau concessionaire Wynn Macau Ltd – is currently developing the Wynn Al Marjan Island project (pictured in an artist’s rendering) at Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE.
Wynn Resorts is to hold a meeting for financial analysts and institutional investors on Tuesday (October 8) to discuss the UAE project.
On Friday, Wynn Resorts issued a statement saying that the UAE’s regulator had “issued a commercial gaming facility operator licence to the entity developing the Wynn Al Marjan Island resort”.
It added: “The licence award follows a diligent and extensive review by the GCGRA.”
The company statement further noted: “Wynn Resorts thanks the GCGRA for the confidence and trust the licence grant signifies and is proud to be the recipient of the first commercial gaming facility licence in the UAE.
“We are underway with the construction of our resort in Ras Al Khaimah and look forward to being a key partner in the development of its tourism economy.”
Wynn Al Marjan Island has been described as a US$3.9-billion venture involving local partners, in which Wynn Resorts is a 40-percent equity investor. Wynn Resorts’ local partners for the scheme are Marjan LLC, and RAK Hospitality Holding LLC.
On Wynn Resorts’ second-quarter earnings call in August, the group stated its total equity contribution to date in the scheme had been US$514.4 million. That represented approximately US$300 million for Wynn Al Marjan and a little over US$200 million for what Julie Cameron-Doe, the chief financial officer, termed “the Marjan land bank and related infrastructure”.
Previously-mentioned non-gaming facilities for Wynn Al Marjan Island encompass a hotel with 1,542 rooms, including 22 private villas on a marina adjacent to the resort. The property will also feature a 7,500-square-metre [80,729-sq-feet] events centre, a 15,000-sq-metre retail venue, more than 20 restaurants and bars, and a theatre, according to Wynn Resorts.
Earlier this year, the casino firm stated that the UAE project was on track to “open to the public in early 2027”.
In mid-September, Wynn Resorts said it had made three senior executive appointments for Wynn Al Marjan Island. That followed the August news that Max Tappeiner – previously executive vice president of operations at Wynn Las Vegas – was becoming president of Wynn Al Marjan Island with effect from September 1.
In other news relating to gaming in the UAE, U.S.-based MGM Resorts International, the parent of Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd, said at an investment event late last month, that it had applied for a casino licence in another of the UAE’s constituent emirates, Abu Dhabi
That is according to MGM Resorts’ chief executive and president, Bill Hornbuckle.
“Yes, we have [applied for a licence]. We’ve done it in Abu Dhabi,” stated Mr Hornbuckle, speaking at the Skift Global Forum 2024 in New York City.
