Players who prefer a live game are always happy when a new stop appears on the map, which ideally combines the game with a holiday destination. This is exactly the case with the newly built resort called City of Dreams Mediterranean, which opened its doors to visitors on July 10 in Cyprus. The grand opening of the resort was planned for an earlier date, but was slowed by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in sanctions and travel bans on Russian citizens.
Behind the project "City of Dreams" is the company Melco, which until now has focused only on the Asian continent. Currently, in addition to the Cyprus resort, it owns three casinos in Macau and one casino resort in the Philippines. The City of Dream Mediterranean is located near the city of Limassol, which, due to its popularity among Russian tourists, is also known under the nickname "Moscow on the Med". Its location will not be a coincidence, because the company relies on the wallets of Russians, as it is they who regularly rank in the top five of the best visitors in Cyprus.
More than 660 million euros were invested in the construction of the resort. Melco CEO Lawrence Ho said that he got the idea to build it when he was on the island sixteen years ago for a wedding. "Our brand, experience in the entertainment industry, the excitement of the game, the quality of the customer experience combined with the Cypriot culture and hospitality is an extremely powerful mix," he said. In addition to the 5-star hotel, it offers visitors the largest casino in Europe, the largest pool complex on the island, luxury shops, restaurants and a convention center.
Even before the opening itself, the project could be proud of several awards. The “Mediterranean City of Dreams” won awards in up to three categories at The European Property Awards 2023 – Best Hotel Architecture, Best Sustainable Commercial Project and Best New Hotel Construction and Design in Cyprus. CoD Mediterranean currently employs over 2,000 people, most of whom are local residents. According to them, one of Melco's goals is for Cypriots themselves to be the face of City of Dreams Mediterranean.
For Cyprus, whose main income is the tourism industry, CoD Mediterranean should be a literal "game-changer". The year 2019, before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, was a record year for Cyprus and its tourism industry - 3.97 million tourists brought an incredible 2.68 billion euros to the country. It is estimated that the resort can attract an additional 300,000 tourists to the country annually, increasing profits by as much as 700 million euros.
As for the gaming experience, the resort offers players a casino spread over 7,500 square meters with approximately 100 tables and 1,000 slot machines. The resort can also boast of a large space reserved for a poker event, but the group is not yet looking for partners for its operation. "Currently, we continue to focus on business development in integrated resorts. We are not going to look for partnerships in the field of poker yet, but we plan to organize poker tournaments later this year," said the resort's general manager, Grant Johnson.
If you decide to travel to the "city of dreams", it will not be a cheap adventure. A room for two people will cost you from €405 per night, but more expensive options are also available. For example, such a stay in the presidential suite will cost visitors at least €14,905 per night.
Source: Casino, TheSun, Citizen, Agbrief