Over 34,000 people from 41 different countries have visited the newly opened Cyprus Casino within the first three weeks of operation.

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Since last month more than 6,000 visitors have registered to become members of the C2 Rewards Club loyalty programme. Membership is not a requirement to enter the casino, but all visitors must be aged over 21.

Property President of Cyprus Casinos Craig Ballantyne said: “So far, the number of visitors has exceeded our expectations and we are very gratified with the response from our guests.”

“We believe the accelerating attendance rate and strong performance of new members joining the Cyprus Casinos C2 Rewards Club is driven by the strong, positive word of mouth and self-discovery by the market,” he added.

Ballantyne said the most frequent guests have been Cypriots, followed by those from Greece, Israel, Romania, Russia and the UK.

“The most popular games have been our state-of-the-art Slot Machines, followed by American Roulette.”

The Cyprus Casino is located at 271 Franklin Roosevelt Avenue in Zakaki, Limassol (the old Orphanides supermarket site) and can accommodate 1,000 visitors.

The €13 mln Melco-run casino covers an area of 4,600m² inclusive of a 1,300m² gaming area.

It features 33 tables and 242 slot machines, VIP gaming area, restaurant and two bars which serve a variety of cuisines, snacks and beverages.

The casino operates on a 24/7 basis with no entry fee.

And unlike anywhere else in Cyprus, smoking is allowed indoors but high-tech climate control keeps the air fresh.

There are ID checks for those who look underaged, but the most frequent visitors are expected to be aged 40 plus.

Currently 593 people (75% of them Cypriot) are employed by Melco at the pop-up casino.

When the City of Dreams Mediterranean integrated casino resort is launched in 2021, the pop-up casino will cease operations and all personnel will automatically be transferred to Europe’s largest Casino Resort.

Macau’s Melco International and its Cypriot partner CNS group are behind the first casino resort also in Limassol.

The €550 mln complex will have 500 hotel rooms with a gaming area of 7,500 square metres and plus and other facilities like an expo centre spanning more than 9,600 square metres.

It will accommodate 136 gaming tables, 1,200 gaming machines, 11 restaurants and employ 2,400 staff.

Before its built, Melco aims to have all four C2 satellite casinos commence operation by next year.

 

Nicosia and Paphos are slated for October/November while the ones in Larnaca and Ayia Napa should open in 2019.

The airport will be the home of the Larnaca casino and an agreement is expected to be signed soon and scheduled to open by early 2019.

Like all the satellites – branded ‘Cyprus Casinos’ – the Larnaca venue will be equipped with 50 electronic gaming machines but have no tables.

But the plans are to make it accessible to all those arriving at and departing from the Larnaca airport.

The Nicosia casino will be the only satellite casino to have gaming tables along with the 50 slots.

It will be built in the area opposite Hilton Park in Engomi where the Sea House café-restaurant use to be.

Also due to open around the same time is the casino being prepared on Ledas Street in Kato Paphos – again this will have 50 slots but no tables.

The casino on Ayia Napa’s Archbishop Makarios Avenue – near the Faros hotel – is expected to open in late 2019.

 

Satellite casinos are not intended to be fully fledged casinos, they will mainly serve as legal gaming venues to deter illegal gaming and people crossing over to the north to gamble. 

 

These smaller casinos aim to hire 70 for Nicosia and a further 60 for the three satellites in Paphos, Ayia Napa & Larnaca.