No one can say exactly whose, but it’s the fault of either Hard Rock International or Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment (MGE). When applying for the sole license to be offered for a casino in Hellinikon, Greece, someone failed to provide all the required financial data and, as there are the only two firms remaining, it has to be one of the two. The mess up could delay the government’s decision from three to six months and it seems the Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC) found another means to drag the casino project out further after the Greek government declared that there would be no more delays.
One of the two firms included a letter of guarantee, as required, but it was “short by four days the prescribed length,” according to the Greek news outlet Naftemporiki. Already the project has been delayed before due to controversy and political fighting over whether it should be allowed or not.
Due to stalled efforts by the HGC to see development take place, there were extensions in the bidding process multiple times. When a new prime minister step in, Kyriakos Mitsotakis of the New Democracy Party, he swore to make several changes to help Greece accelerate its economic recovery and forced the HGC to stop acting slowly.
As mentioned on the Calvinayre.com website, on several occasions, Greece has received help from the European Union due to a stalled domestic economy. If no laws are broken, all politicians, regulators, decision-makers and anyone in position of authority should welcome the chance to have any industry come in and help build a better future.
A local company, Lamda Development, is prepared to get started on the Hellinikon redevelopment project, which is supposedly worth $9 billion and centers on the previous site of the Hellinikon International Airport. This can bring more jobs, more commercialization and more prospects for the country. Hard Rock International is ready to spend about $1.1 billion on a casino resort, which would create several thousand construction jobs and about 1,600 permanent positions. Mohegan Sun supposedly has a bid of around the same amount, and the benefits of any of the companies coming in would be immense to the local economy.
When the situation calms down on the latest delay and a winner is finally selected, that entity will be given virtual exclusivity to operate the resort for 30 years. The property will be permitted to have about 120 table games and over 1,200 slots, and must include facilities for conferences, meetings and conventions too.
