Local gamblers who had been looking forward to the much-hyped “Eurovegas” long slated for construction in Western Hungary will be disappointed to hear that the entire project has essentially folded – but thrilled by the prospect of a large new casino project within the Hungarian capital.
According to a report by Napi Gazdaság, with the Euro Vegas development treading water for almost two years and no progress in sight, the leaders of the municipality of Bezenye decided to shift the development site to another investor.
The new “punter” is a Swiss-owned property developer called Silmo Kft, which will build a recreation center on the 40-hectare plot that was originally singled out by the developer of Euro Vegas. Silmo has offered Ft 180 million (€709,000) for the site and pledged to build a multi-functional recreation center over a span of several years for several billion forints. It will also rebuild and develop local infrastructure. Bezenye mayor Róbert Kammerhofer said Silmo had been picked not only because of the price it offered for the land, but also because of its “careful” and “realistic” development plans.
But soon after the news that Euro Vegas “folded”, Napi also reported that the Finance Ministry is about to launch a tender for the operation of another major casino, this one on Hajógyári sziget (“Shipyard Island”), which sits in the Danube north of downtown Budapest and today is best known for hosting the annual “Sziget” music and culture festival.
According to the report, the casino will accommodate at least 100 card tables and 1,000 slot machines. The concession for a “first category” casino of this size will be at least Ft 600 million a year, and could run for a 20-year period.
Currently Hungary has only “second category” casinos, two in the capital and three in the countryside. Together they run 100 card tables and 170 slot machines, and have a combined annual turnover of about Ft 9.5 billion.