U.S.-based gaming operator Hard Rock International hopes a Greek appeals court will overrule the prior decision to award a major casino development license to its rival, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE).
In January, Hard Rock lost its bid to develop a multibillion-dollar casino resort complex at the site of the abandoned Hellenikon International Airport outside Athens; it claims the process was flawed and even called the outcome “laughable.”
Hard Rock said last year that it was “wrongly disqualified” due to “unfair and improper practice.”
Sources had claimed that Hard Rock has missed the deadline to supply a letter of guarantee, didn’t have enough construction experience to get the casino up and operating and die not have enough financing, all of which were challenged by the Florida-based casino group. Hard Rock claims the seven-member gaming commission made ‘serious irregularities’ throughout the process.
The Greek Preliminary Appeals Authority and the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC) have already rejected Hard Rock’s appeals, but
Hard Rock has pledged to fight tooth and nail in defense of its application. On April 27, the country’s highest administrative court was set to hear the case, but the case has been delayed due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Hard Rock says it won’t back down. Company spokesman Michael Karloutsos told the National Herald, “Hard Rock International will ultimately win the competition for Hellenikon…Hard Rock is the only company to have developed a project like this before and they will do it again.
“Hard Rock International is the only contender with a recognizable global brand and a worldwide network with staying power that can attract much needed additional tourists to Greece,” he continued. “Covid-19 might have something to say about the timing of this going forward, but I assure you that Hard Rock International is prepared to present our case and ultimately win either way, whether it is here in the Greek Supreme Administrative Court or the European Court.”
Hard Rock planned to invest $1.1 billion in the project, developing an integrated resort with hotels, meeting and convention space, dining venues and a gaming area with at least 1,200 slot machines and 120 table games. MGE’s bid hasn’t been revealed, reported Casino.org.
Among the most extraordinary allegations in this case is that Hard Rock allegedly was rejected because officials say the Florida-based firm doesn’t have experience in developing large-scale projects. That speculation was greeted with scorn by the operator, which has developed casino resorts in Florida, New Jersey, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Canada and the Dominican Republic.
It’s also been speculated that Hard Rock lost out because of a lack of financial documentation in its filing, another claim refuted by the company.
The vast project, with its enviable location on the Athenian Riviera, was touted as a shot in the arm for the long-depressed Greek economy, which had been on the upswing under the new Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. As recently as January, Mitsotakis said Greece had reached a “turning point” after four years of government by the leftist Syriza party, which was widely seen as anti-business.
“We’ve left behind a difficult period, and I think this was an election that essentially symbolized the end of an era that really started with the onset of the economic crisis in 2009,” the prime minister told the Financial Times in January. “My view is that this crisis lasted much longer than it should have lasted.”
Now, with a whole new crisis at hand, the Greek economy is expected to contract by up to 10 percent. However, the pandemic has emphasized the importance of bringing in new business and tourism.
Unless the courts decide otherwise, the license belongs to MGE, which plans to work with Greek contractor GEK Terna to develop the integrated resort at the €8 billion (US$8.8 billion) tourist project, which will also include luxury residences, hotels, conference and convention space, sports and cultural areas and a yachting marina.
