Europe's largest casino has opened in Cyprus. The hope is that the casino will attract an additional 300,000 high-roller tourists annually.
The newly opened City of Dreams Mediterranean casino is located near the city of Limassol on the southern coast of Cyprus. It took three years to build, cost more than 637 million euros, equivalent to about 7.5 billion kronor, and currently employs 2,000 people.
The facility, with 14 floors, has a gaming area of 7,500 square meters, 100 tables and 1,000 slot machines.
Behind the idea is Lawrence Ho, CEO of Hong Kong-based gaming company Melcos. The casino hopes to change the tourism sector and, in the best case scenario, attract big players from new markets in Africa and the Middle East.
“Having a casino of this quality opens up several new opportunities,” says Lawrence Ho during the opening on Tuesday.
Casinos were only legalized in Cyprus in 2015, before that the church opposed them and politicians worried about corruption and money laundering.
Tourism in Cyprus contributes approximately 15 percent of the country's GDP.
TT-AFP
