Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming April 2016 44 Melco/Hard Rock, NagaCorp and Bloomberry as final bidders for Cyprus IR Cyprus has shortlisted three bidders to build its first integrated casino resort, which the country’s Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism says will be “the leading ICR in Europe and among the best in the world.” They are: NagaCorp, the Hong Kong-listed Cambodian casino operator, which wants to build in Lanarca; Melco/Hard Rock Resort Cyprus International, a venture of Macau’s Lawrence Ho and the US-based Hard Rock International, which wants to develop in Limassol, and Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, the operator of Manila’s Solaire Resort & Casino, which is eying Paphos. All three locations are cities on the island’s south coast. The winner should be announced by September and will be awarded a 30-year license with the possibility of competing licenses being issued after 15 years. In return for being allowed to operate 100 gaming tables and 1,000 slots, the successful bidder will have to build at least 500 hotel rooms. Other amenities are not compulsory, although the government has suggested conference, meeting, and convention facilities; paid for and complimentary attractions; sports venues and facilities; recreational amenities and entertainment venues, in a project that should open in 2019. The winner will also be able to build 4 satellite casinos; with three offering only slot machines and a fourth featuring table games. After legislators in Nicosia voted in favor issuing the country’s first casino license last July, eight bidders expressed an interest. Among them, reportedly, was a consortium including Donald Trump’s Trump Organization LLC of Manhattan, Navegante of Las Vegas and Aktor of Cyprus. The final three were chosen based on their experience of building and operating successful casino resorts. Cyprus’ economy has been in desperate need of a boost since the IMF and European Central Bank bailed out its banks in 2013 and its national debt was downgraded to junk. Casinos in the Greek- controlled south are illegal, although they operate freely in the Turkish-controlled north and UN “blue zone” dividing the country. INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS No End for Atlantic City’s Woes New Jersey’s twin legislative chambers approved a referendum on a constitutional amendment to end Atlantic City’s gambling monopoly and allow two new casinos in the state’s north close to New York city. Atlantic City itself, meanwhile, edged closer to government shutdown amid an impasse over the city’s finances, with state governor Chris Christie warning opponents “not to play chicken.” The state referendum will be held in November. Proponents of the new casinos say they will increase New Jersey’s overall gaming tax revenues, with up to one third of contributions to be made available for Atlantic City’s regeneration. Yet critics complain the specifics of the new arrangement will not be legislated on until after the ballot. These details include specifying the tax rate levied on the new gambling halls (perhaps as much as 50% of gross gaming revenue, compared to 9.25% now paid in Atlantic City), together with who will pay for their necessary infrastructure. A Rutgers- Eagleton poll showed only 44% of New Jersey residents would vote yes, with 49% saying they oppose casino expansion. In the nearer term, Atlantic City will have to shut down non- essential services if the state does not provide it with a loan before mid-April. Mayor Don Guardian has been pushing for an aid package with measures to extract more tax from Atlantic City’s casinos. Without it he says the city will be forced into bankruptcy, which analysts say could hurt the credit ratings of municipalities across the state. Christie says he will not support the package without a state takeover of Atlantic City’s finances, allowing Trenton to sell off city assets and break contracts with public sector unions. “I will not permit politicians in the state to blackmail the people and taxpayers of New Jersey,” he said, pointing out that Atlantic City’s government spending is nearly three times that of New Jersey’s biggest city Newark. Atlantic City’s gambling industry collapsed after states neighboring New Jersey allowed casinos of their own, starting with Pennsylvania in 2006. Since then the resort town’s annual casino revenue has fallen from $5.2 billion to $2.5 billion. In 2014 alone, four of its 12 casinos closed, and last year Atlantic City’s housing foreclosure rate was the highest in the country.