The prospect of relocating the one and only Athens-area casino to another location from its current mountain-top site, where it has operated since the 1960s, is judged as imperative by the holding company that owns the majority stake in the operation and the concession holder, multinational Regency.
The prospect of relocating the one and only Athens-area casino to another location from its current mountain-top site, where it has operated since the 1960s, is judged as imperative by the holding company that owns the majority stake in the operation and the concession holder, multinational Regency.
Regency owns the majority (70 percent) of the holding company that has a 51-percent stake in the Mont Parnes casino. Regency also manages the business.
Both sides stress that relocating the casino from atop Mt. Parnitha, which overlooks the greater Athens area from the northwest, is absolutely necessary to ensure its continued operation and the jobs of some 1,000 employees.
Both the holding company, which includes a state-owned stake of 49 percent, and the concession holder, promised a bigger investment and more jobs should a relocation site be found and approved, elsewhere for the casino. Beyond new investments and more jobs, the ubiquitous prospect of more tax revenues through a greater gaming turnover has been cited by the casino operator.
The state’s share of the holding company has passed to the memorandum-mandated privatization fund (TAIPED or HRADF).
The recent finalization of an agreement for the massive real estate development project at the coastal Helleniko site again brought the casino relocation issue to the forefront.
If another casino is allowed in the greater Athens area, then the Mont Parnes operation would receive more favorable terms, as per an agreement with the Greek state. Relocation off the mountain to a more preferential site would, ostensibly, be one of the more favorable terms.
A request for a relocation of the Mont Parnes casino has already been tabled since 2013.