The Hard-Rock Hotel Casino Hellinikon Athens
tegrated resort appears to be moving forward . Hard Rock International is the partner ( replacing Mohegan Sun ) with the GEK TERNA Group and construction is under way for a possible 2026 opening . The property promises a five-star hotel , premier convention and meeting space , a large entertainment component , world-class food and beverage and unique outdoor spaces .
In Spain , the Cordish Companies , known for its “ Live !” gaming and nongaming developments in the U . S ., has reached an agreement with the small town of Torres de Alameda , east of Madrid .
The mayor of Torres de Alameda , Carlos Sáez , is fully behind the project , which will feature a variety of attractions including several smaller casinos , hotels , shopping areas , meeting and convention space , restaurants and much more . Sáez insists that Cordish is “ in love ” with the town and fully committed to the project .
But it will take more than the approval of the mayor of Torres de Alameda ; it will require the OK from the Community of Madrid , a regional organization that rejected the first Cordish proposal for “ EuroVegas ” in 2017 because it was too “ American ” and failed to promote the Spanish culture . Cordish is hoping this time will be different with one of the attractions being the world ’ s largest flamenco table . The project will cost an estimated $ 2.36 billion with profits of over $ 4 billion projected within the first five years . But with no timeline , the Melco project will get a long head start . Grant Johnson , the property general manager for City of Dreams Mediterranean and Cyprus Casinos , tells GGB he thinks the company ’ s relations with the Cyprus government was the reason Melco was chosen .
“ It takes a unique set of circumstances to make an integrated resort happen ,” Johnson says . “ Melco is always looking for growth opportunities , and I think in Cyprus , we finally found an opportunity where it was a destination that had a good base of tourism with a good location and potential to grow that tourism number . And more importantly , Cyprus was a government that seemed very interested to bring an integrated resort to the market .
“ Europe is a complicated place with lengthy and complex regulatory processes , and it was a long time coming for this type of integrated resort , but it was a good match between our objectives and Cyprus .”
Johnson explains that Cyprus was looking to upgrade and increase its visibility by approving an IR .
“ Cyprus has a small population of 900,000 and competes with the tourism offerings of the Mediterranean — Greece and the islands off Greece , Southern France and Italy , and other places ,” he says . “ I think Cyprus is under-recognized . So they were looking to put themselves on the map a bit more for its blue water , beautiful beaches , 320 days of sun , and a mix of various cultures . There are Roman , Greek and Turkish influences . So it ’ s a unique place , and I think they were looking for new ways to help market themselves . And the integrated
resort will do that .” One of the issues Cyprus wanted to address was an expansion of the season , according to Johnson . “ It ’ s very much a summer market ,” he says , “ a seasonal market . So they were really looking to make us a year-round destination . With an integrated resort , you bring in the MICE business in the winter , alternative entertainment , and we ’ ll fill this place with content . It just enhances the offering .”
Four years ago , Melco began to open satellite casinos across the Republic of Cyprus , and four are open today . Johnson says they ’ re typical “ locals ” casinos .
“ It ’ s a very much core local clientele of repeat visitation ,” he says , “ a nice base of business that we can start with here , but we need to grow that international space as we go . There were no casinos here prior to us operating in the Republic of Cyprus . There ’ s some in the north of Turkish-occupied Cyprus , but we had to basically build up a local casino operation team . We hired almost all of our dealers locally and trained locally . They will move up to supervisors when COD Mediterranean opens .”
As for that international visitation , Johnson says it will rely heavily on Israel and the surrounding Gulf states .
“ In the summers there are 30 flights a week from Israel ,” he says . “ And that drops down to about 10 per week in the winter months . And then you go to the Gulf countries , which are also big for us . So the Gulf countries , and then Pan Europe and sprinkle a little bit of North Africa in there as well . And then we ’ ll see what happens with the conflict in Ukraine . Russia used to account for about 20 percent of the visitation to Cyprus . Not so much anymore , but longer term as Russia comes back , I think that will be in the mix as well .”
Another target for Melco is the tour operators who run excursions throughout the Greek Islands over the summer season . Johnson says extending these relationships is a priority for COD Mediterranean .
“ We hope to work with over 90 tour operators by the time we open ; we ’ re slowly starting to sign contracts ,” he says . “ There ’ s an existing tour operator business that now we ’ re tapping into . We think our product adds to this . We ’ re now going back and having to be a bit more aggressive with our partnerships and to push a little bit more on the off season , because that ’ s something where traditionally the tour operators haven ’ t come to Cyprus . So that ’ s where the Ministry of Tourism gets involved , and it ’ s working with the airlines together with tour operators and trying to develop off-season content .”
Melco made a commitment to the government to first hire Cyprus citizens , and Johnson says they are fulfilling that commitment . But he also notes that they ’ ve had to reach farther afield to fill some positions .
“ We have 700 colleagues now that are employed through our satellite operations but we ’ re hiring another 1,800 as we get to COD Mediterranean ,” he explains . “ And we ’ re struggling , to be honest , to find enough locals within Cyprus , which is our priority . So we ’ re looking now across Europe and even non-EU countries .”
Johnson is confident not only that they ’ ll be well staffed for the opening , but that the Melco corporate culture will keep them engaged .
“ As you know , that ’ s in our DNA , and it starts with ( CEO Lawrence Ho ) and then trickles down to all of us . Melco has always been a global leader in hospitality with service , and we just moved it to Cyprus and applied it here . There are some adjustments , of course , as you get into a local market because you want to adapt to the local culture . But that ’ s really our strength as we come in , because there are probably hundreds of hotels throughout Cyprus , but what we ’ re bringing is the Melco global standard of hospitality .
“ We ’ ve got 96 Forbes stars , and I forget how many Michelin stars we have now , but they are special here , and that ’ s actually helping us recruit .” — Roger Gros
DECEMBER 2022 www . ggbmagazine . com 19