Plans for EUR 750m Mega Gaming Centre Unveiled
Slovenian gaming company Hit and US casino operator Harrah's Entertainment have signed a deal on the construction of a EUR 750m entertainment and casino centre in the Gorisko region in western Slovenia, the two companies told the press in Ljubljana on Tuesday.
The project received the state's backing as Finance Ministry State Secretary Andrej Sircelj said the ministry was already amending legislation to allow foreign companies to hold more than 20% in Slovenian gaming ventures and will cut the effective tax rate on gaming to 17.5% from the current 38%.
The amendments, upon which the entire project was conditional, will be sent to parliament in July and the National Assembly could pass them before year's end, Sircelj added.
The casino will be owned by a joint venture between the two companies, with Hit holding 51% and Harrah's 49%.
It will include top-class hotels with 1,500 rooms, a convention and events centre, swimming pools, restaurants, a casino and numerous other facilities.
Its location is still unclear, as is the exact date when it will open its doors. According to the best-case scenario, it could open in three-years time, the companies said.
Hit chairman Niko Trost said that the centre would create 3,200 new jobs directly and another 1,000 indirectly, and boost tax revenues by EUR 120m. An additional EUR 165m would be spent a year for goods and services.
Charles Atwood, vice-chairman of Harrah's, said that the project was a big opportunity for the US-based company. He believes that the it could attract numerous guests from all over Europe and the US.
The Economy Ministry welcomed the announcement. Marjan Hribar, the head of the tourism directorate, said that the project could have a decisive impact on the development of tourism in Slovenia.
A similar view was voiced by Franci Krizanic of the Ljubljana Law Faculty's Economic Institute. The casino will allow the already well-developed Nova Gorica region to overtake central Slovenia in terms of economic power.
Nova Gorica mayor Mirko Brulc was less upbeat after the two companies presented the project to local communities in Nova Gorica earlier in the day.
"The presentation was not detailed enough...replies that the casino will donate money for and sponsor many activities were not satisfactory," Brulc added.
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