Second satellite casino goes live in Cyprus as part of island nation’s strategy to combat seasonality and draw visitors all year round
Cyprus’ second satellite casino opened doors this past Friday to extend the footprint of the Cyprus Casinos (C2) brand across the island nation. C2 Larnaca launched at Larnaca International Airport to lure guests and residents of the popular seaside city and the Mediterranean republic.
C2 Larnaca has two sites at the airport, one located in the departures zone and the other in the arrivals area. The former is only accessible to people departing from Cyprus, while the latter can be accessed by everyone. Casino visitors must be aged 21 or over in order to be admitted to the gaming floor.
The opening of C2 Larnaca occurred just days after C2 Nicosia, the first satellite casino operated under the C2 brand, was launched in the Cypriot capital. Unlike the Nicosia facility, the one at Larnaca International Airport only features slot machines and no table games. There are 42 gaming devices across the two airport locations.
Commenting on the launch of the second satellite casino, City of Dreams Mediterranean and C2 Property President Craig Ballantyne said that they believe C2 Larnaca will “offer tourists and locals travelling to and from Cyprus a unique entertainment experience.”
Hermes Airports CEO Eleni Kaloyirou added that they are pleased to welcome the C2 Larnaca satellite casino and that they wish the consortium behind the C2 brand “every success.”
City of Dreams Mediterranean
Hong Kong gaming and hospitality giant Melco Resorts & Entertainment is one of the companies participating in the consortium running the C2 casino brand, the other being its local partner, CNS Group.
The two companies are jointly developing the €550-million City of Dreams Mediterranean integrated resort in Limassol, which is set to become Europe’s first property of this kind when it becomes operational in the early 2020s. A temporary casino opened doors this past summer and will remain operational until the main resort is launched.
Melco and its local partner are also slated to open two more satellite casinos, one in Paphos and the other in Ayia Napa. That is expected to happen sometime in 2019. The four satellite casinos will remain operational after the opening of City of Dreams Mediterranean.
The Cypriot government approved the Limassol casino resort and the four satellite casinos as part of its efforts to combat seasonality. The tiny island nation is currently a popular summer tourist destination but lawmakers are looking to make it attractive to visit all year round.
According to official statistics, Cyprus is set to wrap up a record year for its tourism industry in terms of the number of international visitors to the Mediterranean republic. A total of 3,832,062 people visited Cyprus in the 11 months to November 30, 2018, compared to 3,652,073 visitors in 2017.
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