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It looks like Dubai’s Las Vegas-style island project will launch without a casino.
The first resort to feature a casino in the UAE will be Ras Al Khaimah’s upcoming 1,500 room Wynn Resort, slated to open in 2027.According to the latest MGM earnings call with MGM CEO, Bill Hornbuckle stated that the amazing USD2.5 billion project Dubai project has not received the green light, and will go ahead without a casino in it.
Sources:
https://whatson.ae/2024/02/the-island-dubai-vegas-style-mgm-bellagio-and-aria-hotels/
https://secretdubai.co/the-island-dubai/
Source: https://www.meed.com/chinese-firm-wins-largest-construction-contract-in-dubai-since-2017Local developer Wasl has awarded the estimated AED4.4bn ($1.2bn) contract to build The Island project in Dubai to Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The contract award is a significant moment for Dubai. According to regional projects tracker MEED Projects, it is the largest construction deal to be signed in the emirate since local contractor Alec secured the $1.36bn contract to build One Zabeel from local developer Ithra in 2017.
In fact the tender has been issued three days ago.
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Not much happened since May 2022. I got access to the site and it seems like they are still preparing most of the terrain and added some foundation structures. The security told me that tendering will start March 2023.
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From MGM International earnings call (August 3):
https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2022/08/03/mgm-resorts-international-mgm-q2-2022-earnings-cal/in the U.A.E, we continue to make progress on bringing the MGM brand family to Dubai, where we have a management agreement for a nongaming integrated resort that has been developed in partnership with Wasl.
The project has broken ground and work continues on the development progress, and we will watch with great interest what does or doesn't happen around gaming in the region, hopefully, in the near future.
More concept pictures of The Island by Wasl:
https://www.protenders.com/companies/wasl/projects/mgm-hotel-residences-bellagio-hotel
As the construction supervisor said the work is ongoing (pic 1). Lorries are leaving the site form time to time (pic 2). He also confirmed that the info on the board (at the entrance) is correct except for the 12/2021 date (pic 3). Even though it seems like there is nothing going on when we take a look at the construction from the outside (pic 4) we all know the truth now
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