Moroccan developers Plan Mega Gaming Resort
The continuing increase in tourist activity has resulted in a number of new developments taking place in Morocco and it is due to get a new gaming and mixed-use development in the popular holiday city of Ouarzazate in the middle of the country near the Atlas Mountains.
Ouarzazate is in central Morocco and by all standards it is a different city from most Moroccan cities of its size. The town is 274 miles south of Casablanca and 126 miles south of Marrakech. Ouarzazate has an international airport that is about nine miles from the development. Ouarzazate is designed for heavy tourism, and is well established with numerous hotels of high standard.
The quest to find the next lucrative international gaming destination has landed in the Ouarzazate Lake City development and it will be the largest gaming location in the country, including several casinos and six themed hotels with more than 3,000 beds. The development also includes residential buildings, non-gaming hotels, an outdoor movie theater, a convention center, a golf course, and water park. The Moroccan developers have approached Las Vegas-based Global Gaming Group of CB Richard Ellis to help find a casino operator for the location.
The casino is planned on a waterfront site near Lake Mansour Eddahbi and will include a hotel. The project is expected to break ground this year, with the first hotel opening in 2011. Experts predict that the potential annual gaming revenue could be worth in the region of $100 million depending on what is built and how the infrastructure progresses surrounding what is being called the Ouarzazate Lake City development.
John Knott, the Global Gaming Group’s executive vice president, said the project could be similar to Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas, which is owned by Kerzner International Holdings which consist of a 3,700 room hotel-casino with 1,000 slot machines and 100 gaming tables, built around a 100-acre waterscape.
John Knott commented: “It’s another legitimate international opportunity for a casino operator to diversify outside of the United States. Morocco wants to expand its tourism opportunities beyond its current market. They believe gaming could play a key role”.
Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Bill Lerner has stated that “It really is similar to Atlantis, a big footprint with a fully integrated resort, As long as the expectations are realistic and it’s designed the right way, it has a significant shot of being successful.”
Knott added that the tax on gaming is lower than gaming taxes in neighboring countries which could be anywhere from 17 percent to 21 percent. Morocco currently attracts more than seven million visitors annually and is looking at opportunities to expand tourism and gaming is one of the many avenues being explored. The Moroccan government supports the Ouarzazate Lake City project because the casino will only be one aspect of a multi-faceted development.
Popularity: 4% [?]
