Looking to gain a foothold in the potentially lucrative British gambling market, Caesars Entertainment Inc. announced Monday that it will construct a Las Vegas-style hotel-casino in London, England.
$600M facility
LAS VEGAS
Looking to gain a foothold in the potentially lucrative British gambling market, Caesars Entertainment Inc. announced Monday that it will construct a Las Vegas-style hotel-casino in London, England.
The $600 million (U.S.) resort will consist of 400 rooms and be built on 5.3 hectares next to the redeveloped Wembley National Stadium and Wembley Arena.
The property will be named Caesars Wembley, employing one of the bestknown casino brands.
Caesars Entertainment president and CEO Wallace Barr said the area will be a natural draw for tourists.
“Wembley promises to become one of Europe’s top new leisure destinations,’’ Barr said in a statement. “With that in mind, Wembley is a natural location for our first European casino project.’’
Wembley has been mentioned as a site for World Cup soccer matches and as a key component of London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics.
Caesars is teaming up with Quintain Estates and Development PLC, a property investment and development company in Britain. Each company will own 50 per cent of the planned casino joint venture.
The London casino is the next stage in Quintain’s plans to revitalize Wembley, a northwest London neighbourhood that is home to the famed soccer stadium and an arena used for concerts and boxing matches. The Wembley renewal project is being financed and developed by Quintain, and will surround the new National Stadium.
Caesars Wembley will have a spa and swimming pool, a collection of designer shops, convention and meeting facilities, along with restaurants, bars and lounges. The casino will boast 7,000 square metres of gambling space, with 135 gambling tables and 1,250 slot machines.
The plan to bring a casino to Wembley is subject to the scheduled deregulation of gambling laws in Britain, that if approved would loosen restrictions, such as allowing more casinos and slot machines.
That legislation is expected to be passed next year.
Since the British government said it would relax its gambling laws, the largest players in the indus- $600M facility Caesars Entertainment to build London casino try have rushed to get their slice of the next big market.
MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment also have announced deals to build casinos in Britain, each looking to take advantage of a nation in which 72 per cent of the population— some 33 million adults— gambled an estimated $65 billion in 2001.
Both Las Vegas companies are awaiting state and federal approval on planned high-profile mergers.
In June, MGM Mirage agreed to purchase Mandalay Resort Group for $4.8 billion in cash, $2.5 billion in debt and $600 million convertible debentures. Harrah’s proposed a $5.2 billion deal to acquire Caesars Entertainment in July.
The Associated Press
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