Place your bets! The Casino in Sinaia is up for auction and the minimal bet is 1 million euros. How many companies will be interested to invest in an old casino, most successful between WW I and WW II, considering it really needs millions of euros in investments and the number of potential clients does not seem too great?
The Local Council of the town of Sinaia will try to grant a 20-year concession of the casino building to a company willing to invest at least one million euros in restoring it and in operating a casino.
The minimal royalty the operator will pay is 400,000 euros a year in addition to 5% of the monthly working capital, Alin Filip, Local Council official told Ziarul Financiar.
The domestic casino owners do not seem interested in such an investment. "I've heard about this project, but I don't think it stands many chances of success. Investments in a casino in Bucharest reach $3 million, so that they will amount to $5-$6 million in a casino like the one in Sinaia or Constanta and this money cannot possibly be recovered because of the very high taxes in this sector. Sinaia, for instance, does not have an airport and it is already difficult to get people to gamble in Bucharest, let alone get them to Sinaia. I don't think investors will come if taxes and legislation stay as they are now, that is discouraging," said Sorin Constantinescu, manager of the Grand Casino Romania within the Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel in Bucharest.
Constantinescu says the deserted or partially ruined casinos in the Dubrovnik seaside resort in Croatia were given to investors for free after the war, if they wanted to renovate and operate them.
On the other hand, Tourism Ministry sources say foreign companies have already started inquiring about casinos that were trendy in the period between the two world wars, after the ministry announced plans to launch a programme to rehabilitate these assets. The programme will have casinos like those in Constanta, Sinaia, Vatra Dornei, Herculane and Slanic Moldova included in the international touristic circuit.
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
