Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s Cyprus integrated resort, City of Dreams Mediterranean, is on the recovery path after a recent slowdown due to the Gaza-Israel conflict, with business volumes in both its casino and hotel showing strong growth, Inside Asian Gaming has learned.
The IAG team is on the ground in Cyprus this week, staying at the CoD Mediterranean property, some seven months after Melco’s newest IR held its soft opening last July.
IAG was aware of swirling industry talk prior to our visit that the property was essentially a ghost town, with the war involving Israel in Gaza said to be eliminating its largest source market and the Russia-Ukraine war eradicating another important feeder market. However, the reality is vastly different.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, IAG witnessed a hive of activity on the main gaming floor, with almost all seats at open table games filled, many of the roulette tables seated two deep and a healthy stream of customers playing slot machines. Even midweek has seen a steady flow of play, with table games – albeit fewer of them open – still busy and a healthy dose of slots play, based on IAG’s observations. There were also two full tables of No Limit Hold’em running in the expansive poker room on Tuesday night.
Sources familiar with CoD Mediterranean confirmed to IAG that business levels have returned with some force in recent weeks, particularly in respect to Israeli customers. Anecdotal evidence suggests these customers are willing to travel again, having initially opted out in the immediate months after war broke out last October.
Sources have also claimed the 500-room hotel at City of Dreams Mediterranean is around 80% full on weekends and enjoying around 40% occupancy midweek – an impressive feat given that February is the absolute peak of the off-season in Cyprus.
IAG understands that City of Dreams Mediterranean is anticipating a busy year ahead as it prepares for its first full Cyprus summer of operations, a time of year when flight capacity into the country traditionally quadruples.
Melco is expected to release its 4Q23 and FY23 financial results before the end of this month.
