Two popular casino operators from the United States showed their interest in obtaining a license for the Hellinikon project. The project was started by the former Greek government, and its ultimate aim is to build a big integrated resort on the site of a former airport near Athens. They opened a bidding process recently, and the only two candidates that showed up are the two tribal-run US casino operators.
Last Friday, the HGC (Hellenic Gaming Commission) announced that the only two candidates for obtaining the license are Hard Rock International and Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment. One of them will receive a license that will last for 30 years and will have an opportunity to work on the $8 billion project, which Greeks hope to turn into one of the most popular casino places in all of Europe.
After a long period of postponing deadlines due to political turmoil in Greece, the country’s officials made a significant step forward, having concluded the bidding process and announced potential candidates. The government will get together to discuss the best possible option, and the final results are expected by the end of November. In other words, one of the two American companies will have an opportunity to work on the project very soon.
Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment already made some connections with local Greek businesses, with the most important one being GEK Terna, which is a construction company that would help them complete the building process. On the other hand, Hard Rock International also added a couple of things they plan to do if they get a license, but they are yet to take their first step towards making arrangements.
The Tender Terms
The Hellenic Gaming Commission included a couple of terms that they consider relevant for choosing the final company which will obtain the license. They don’t hide the fact that the financial aspect plays an important role. In fact, it will affect their final decision up to 60 percent. On the other hand, the technical aspect will be about 40 percent important.
The Hellinikon project is now taking huge steps forward, and all of that started to happen ever since Greece got a new government that decided to speed things up with the entire project, which underwent several postponements. In fact, one of the most important reasons why it was postponed that much was the election that took place a couple of months ago.
Once it is completed, the casino part of the resort will include a total of 120 gaming tables. On top of that, there will be approximately 1,200 slot machines, which will be all over the casino floor that should be around 12,000 square feet.
According to projections made by the government, the integrated resort should attract up to a million tourists annually. That should increase the overall GDP of Greece by 2.4 percent.
Other companies that many believed would enter the race include Genting and Caesars Entertainment. However, they did not submit applications.
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