In 2008 Harrah’s Entertainment pulled out of a joint venture casino project in The Bahamas (Baha Mar) and another in Slovenia. The company also put plans on hold to develop a Las Vegas style gaming resort in Spain, the El Reino de Don Quijote complex south of Madrid. Now it has been reported that Harrah’s is to develop a casino resort in Slovakia.

The €1.5 billion (US$2.22 billion) hotel casino resort is apparently to be named ‘Metropolis’ and will be located on a 30-hectare site not far from the Slovakian capital Bratislava. The project is another joint venture, this time with Hungarian TriGranit, which would run the development’s shopping mall and entertainment park while Harrah’s would operate the casino and hotel. TriGranit says finance is being arranged with at least six banks.

Metropolis is expected to create in the region of 28,000 jobs, not all permanent, and attract as many as 5 million tourists annually from central Europe. The project has several planned phases, starting with the shopping centre, an aqua park and a leisure centre with Adventure Park, three hotels and the casino with related amenities. Later phases will comprise of conference facilities, golf courses, further casinos and luxury apartments.

There are four international airports within 220 kilometres of the Metropolis site with 40 million passengers yearly. South of Bratislava, adjacent to the Petržalka and Jarovce districts, the location is strategically placed at the intersection of the D2 and D4 highways that lead to Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Prague. The 29 million people in the 220 kilometre catchment area represent the main target group for Metropolis. (E-10.14.09)

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