Melco Resorts & Entertainment will create a casino and integrated resort (IR) in the heart of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, it said in an announcement on Tuesday along with its first-quarter earnings.
City of Dream Sri Lanka (writer rendering photo) will collaborate with John Keells Holdings Plc, described as the largest conglomerate listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, to launch a billion-dollar project.
Initial investment in the casino portion of the project is expected to be approximately $125 million.
Lawrence Hou Yau-Lung, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts, said of the Sri Lankan venture on the group's Q1 call: "$125 million for us is a small bet for potentially big opportunities."
Jeff Davis, Chief Financial Officer at Melco Resorts, said on the call: "From a gross gaming revenue (GGR) perspective, Sri Lanka could reach $200 million to $250 million (per year) on an operating rate basis through the first phase of casino development."
The complex will feature an 800-room hotel and facilities for casinos, meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).
Melco Group's fully invested local subsidiary has obtained a 20-year casino license from the Sri Lankan government, a press release on Tuesday said.
Melco will "install and operate City of Dream Sri Lanka's gaming zone, and Melco will manage the hotel's top five floors with Nuwa-branded ultra-luxury rooms, which are 113 of City of Dream Sri Lanka's 800 total hotel rooms," the statement said.
"Melco and John Kelce have agreed to all major commercial agreements and expect to move out of the casino zone soon," the release said.
Chairman Ho said: "We are very excited to be involved in this groundbreaking development in Sri Lanka and partner with John Kelce.
"We believe Sri Lanka has tremendous potential, and this opportunity complements Sri Lanka's existing property portfolio."
In his first-quarter earnings call, Lee noted that Sri Lanka's opportunities were "capital light investments with an attractive yield profile, which allowed us to expand our dream city brand and expand our customer reach."
The complex's non-game facilities, including 687 rooms at the Cinnamon Life Hotel to be managed by John Kelce, are "in the final stages of completion and are expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2024," according to an earlier release, with casino operations expected to "start in mid-2025 ″." 파워볼사이트
"Gaming facilities are likely to expand further, depending on performance and market conditions," the release added.
In terms of catering for gaming customers, Ho suggested that "Sri Lanka could go to India and Macau to China" in the casino group's first-quarter earnings release.
