Fancy a Las Vegas style casino in Marbella or on the Costa del Sol?
Well this might be a possibility although at the moment the preferred locations are Barcelona and Madrid. The $20.3 billion project will essentially create a Las Vegas style strip and will be undertaken by the Nevada based casino operator, Las Vegas Sands.
Outside of Barcelona and Madrid the other two locations being considered for the casino project are the Costa del Sol (possibly Marbella) and Valenica. The project has been considered for a few years but the crisis put plans on hold as did the near bankruptcy of the Las Vegas Sands company until its CEO personally bailed it out with a massive $475 million loan. As a result they are now seeking to expand further having already opened the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore last year.
The idea is to essentially create a mini Las Vegas which will incorporate lots of retail space, over 20,000 accommodation rooms and exhibition areas. If the Marina Bay Sands report in Singapore is anything to go by, having already seen over 11 million visitors since it opened last year, the Spanish project could bring in much needed tourism in the future.
From a selfish point of view it would be great if the Marbella was chosen for the new Sands casino project as it would bring with it lots of jobs both during and after the construction and of course be a major boost to Costa del Sol tourism.
The infrastructure in and around Marbella is already in place with two airports (Malaga and Gibraltar), within easy reach.
There is actually already a casino in Marbella, located directly opposite Puerto Banus but it is hardly a Las Vegas style strip. The Sands Casino project sounds exciting and something that would be welcomed by most people in Marbella.
However, at the time of updating this post in March 2014, there are no plans for Marbella and the project has still not been approved, sone two years on from the original article.
Celebrities in Marbella will keep you updated with any updates as they come through.