The Eden Leisure Group will soon announce its partner in the casino project, relieved that the delay in the licence agreement had not scared them off.
“The partner operates in 80 locations in nine countries, offering a substantial loyalty rewards programme. It should be able to bring many of its members here to Malta,” executive chairman Ian De Cesare said.
In 2013, the group was planning a number of major projects, including the refurbishment of the Intercontinental and the addition of two floors, construction of the Holiday Inn Express, and a total revamp of the Eden Arena. When they heard that a casino licence was going to be on offer, the decision was taken to do them all simultaneously, realising that the casino would be a value-added element for the rest.
Both the Eden Leisure Group’s bid for the casino at the Intercontinental Malta, and that of the Dragonara Casino for San Antonio Hotel, had been approved as preferred bidders in February 2013 and a result was expected by October or November that year.
However, everything went quiet and Eden found itself in the embarrassing position of having to explain the delays to its foreign partner.
As the months stretched to almost a year, the Eden Leisure Group realised that it would have to decide whether to put the entire project on hold – or proceed without the casino.
It had already ended Eurosport’s lease in the area to be dedicated to the casino, in anticipation of possible success, and this remained empty for 18 months.
The licence-award was challenged in court by the Dragonara but the situation was finally defused after the government decided to award licences to both.
Work has now started on the €31 million project, with the Intercontinental Malta to reopen by April and the casino by the last quarter of the year.
The project will create at least 300 full-time equivalent jobs overall, of which over 170 will be at Casino Malta, as it will be called. Mr De Cesare sees considerable synergy between the projects.
“The Intercontinental has almost 90 per cent occupancy from April to October and we anticipate that tourism and business travel will continue to grow, especially with Valletta as the European Capital of Culture in 2018 and Malta holding the EU presidency,” Mr De Cesare said.
The partner operates in 80 locations in nine countries, offering a substantial loyalty rewards programme
“With the new Holiday Inn Express and the additional suites being added to the Intercontinental, we will have 1,300 to 1,400 people on site. The hotels would help the casino, while the casino would help the hotels.
“The 3,600-square-metre conference centre at the Bay Arena will also complement the casino. For example, it will be able to host massive poker tournaments.”
The location means that there would also be considerable walk-by business, which will improve even more as the profile of Paceville-goers is changing rapidly to a more mature one.
“The emphasis that we will be putting on glamour, entertainment and food and beverage means people will not just come to the casino to gamble but for the whole experience,” director of operations Simon De Cesare said.
“They may spend less than gamblers but they will provide high volumes. In addition, there is a considerable percentage of local punters who go to casinos – as many as two-thirds. Unfortunately, the age restriction for Maltese is 25, while that for foreigners is 18. I cannot imagine that the authorities would ever change this willingly, but if there were ever a legal challenge on the grounds of discrimination, I wonder how they would defend it, ” he added.
The Eden Leisure Group has never been afraid to try something innovative, whether the Palladium a few decades ago or the Imax Theatre more recently.
The group is also not afraid to admit defeat if things do not work out as well as expected, preferring to move on, as it is doing now with the Bay Arena, which has gone from ice rink to exhibition hall to conference centre.
The casino will be one of the largest on the island, its 2,800 square metres taking over the whole of the footprint previously used by Eurosport, the conference rooms below the hotel’s reception and some of the cinema screens.
The group is using the projects in a holistic way from an operational point of view. For example, the services for the Holiday Inn Express will be shared with the Intercontinental, via an underground car park, so that staff movements, deliveries and garbage collection will not interfere with traffic passing in front of the latter.
The De Cesares are trying to look forward but it is hard to mask their bitterness.
“The stories that emerged in the media were selective with the truth, to say the least. There were 13 evaluation criteria, ranging from employment and new business to the financial bid and the company’s track record. Those who said that Eden Leisure had no experience with casinos conveniently overlooked our partners.
“Our bid will result in €23 million more revenue for the government than that of the rival bidder, over the 10-year licence period. Compare that with the €13.5 million the government got last year from the whole of the casino industry. That is the bottom line,” the executive chairman said.