CAESARS: ‘WE WELCOME GOVT’S INVITATION’

GLOBAL giant Caesars Entertainment has welcomed the State Government’s invitation to register interest in developing a Gold Coast global tourism hub (GTH). A spokesperson for Caesars Entertainment, which operates Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, said after the State Government’s green light: “We’ve commenced review of the registration of interest documents. Caesars is aware of, and welcomes, the Queensland Government’s decision to move forward with a process for a GTH on the Gold Coast.” Caesars president of international development Steven Tight has already visited the Coast twice, in 2017 and last year, meeting tourism and government officials as it investigates a Coast hub. Hard Rock International has also confirmed it is “interested”. “We believe the government’s global tourism hub strategy is the best way to attract strong international interest to bring new world-class tourism and entertainment drawcards to a world-class destination – the Gold Coast,” Hard Rock told The Australian.

ASF, previously a prospective proponent for the city’s second casino licence, is understood to be considering its options. ASF and incumbent The Star are allowed to bypass the register of interest process (ROI) and move to the more serious second stage of expressions of interest.

A surprise contender is NagaCorp, a Cayman Islands-registered, Hong Kong stock exchange-listed company which operates NagaWorld in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. NagaCorp did not respond to the Bulletin’s requests for comment.