Local gaming operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. is one of the contenders for the gaming concession on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, news outlet Cyprus Weekly has reported. ‘Macau-based Hard Rock-Melco Crown Entertainment and the Filipino company Bloomberry Resorts are serious contenders for the Cypriot comprehensive casino resort,’ the news outlet cited an unidentified source as saying. Business Daily tried to reach representatives of Melco Crown for the company’s comments but there was no reply from the company before this story went to press. This is not the first time that gaming operator boss Lawrence Ho Yau Lung (pictured) has expanded his gaming business outside the Special Administrative Region following the gaming downturn. Last February, the gaming entrepreneur launched City of Dreams Manila in the Philippines via Melco Crown Entertainment. Meanwhile, through Summit Ascent, another controlled company, he opened the Tigre de Cristal casino in Vladivostok in Russia last October. In addition to these two projects, Mr. Ho’s Melco International Development has tendered for a casino licence near Barcelona in Spain. Melco Crown’s bid for the Cypriot casino is in competition with other Asian gaming operators. Apart from Bloomberry, Cyprus Weekly recently reported that Cambodian gaming operator NagaCorp had already submitted a full proposal to Cypriot authorities. Other bidders for the Cypriot gaming licence include the French consortium of Bouygues, Accor Hoer and Barrier, as well as Russian Absolute, the news outlet said. Cypriot casino In July last year, the legislative unit in the Republic of Cyprus passed the bill of Operations and Casino Control Law, which regulates the setting up of the country’s own gaming regulator, as well as allowing the licensing of an integrated resort comprising a casino and leisure facilities for a 30-year period. According to Cyprus Weekly, the country’s Ministry of Commerce had asked members of parliament to approve the final rules and regulations regarding the island’s first casino resort by next month in order to prepare for the next round of the bidding competition in which only three of eight contenders will remain. The Cypriot authorities expect the casino resort to bring up to 500,000 more tourists to the Mediterranean island.
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