Hellinikon casino license tender at a standstill, US contenders could sue

As paperwork issues are setting back the awarding of a casino license critical to the 8-billion-euro ($8.86 billion) development of the abandoned Hellinikon International Airport in Athens, Greece, the only two bidders, American companies Hard Rock and Mohegan, said they would sue if shut out because of that, The National Herald reports.

Greek media reports said the hurdles could push back naming the winner by up to six months, a further setback for Prime Minister and New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ promise to start construction on the project by the end of the year under the Greek company Lamda.

With the problem under wraps, Hard Rock threatened “mass appeals” if the group is knocked out of the tender, as is Mohegan, setting up a bureaucratic and possible legal nightmare for the new Greek government for whom Hellinikon is benchmark.

The project is the biggest Foreign Direct Investment in Greece in 10 years and one of the biggest in all of Europe, after plans to make the site the largest urban park was scrapped because of Greece’s long-running economic crisis.

The Hellenic Gaming Commission (HGC), which put the project out to public tender, is sticking to the letter of the law, Kathimerini reported, with New Democracy – while wanting to accelerate the project – saying it would check off all the boxes first.

After consulting with legal advisers on each bid, the special committee set up by the HGC to conduct the invitation to tender is now calling the candidates for evaluation in order to report back on what is the best combined offer.

Sources who weren’t named told that newspaper that it doesn’t look good for Hard Rock its representative Michael Karloutsos claiming while it trusted the HGG committee that it would go to court if it felt cheated. Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE), in partnership with Greek contractor GEK Terna, is extending the same threat in case of non-compliance – which in their case would mean the designation of Hard Rock Cafe as the winner of the tender.

This project represents the biggest foreign direct investment Greece has seen in the past 10 years in developing a tourism and entertainment complex from scratch.

Hard Rock has said it would spend about $1.1 billion to build the gaming property, creating 3,000 construction jobs and 1,600 permanent positions and said it could begin operating within 20 to 26 months after breaking ground.

The winning bidder will receive near-monopoly protection, with a 30-year gaming license with Greek regulators requiring that the integrated resort feature convention venues and at least 1,200 slot machines and 120 table games.

Hard Rock and Mohegan submitted their bids at the Oct. 4 deadline with Reuters then reporting that the winner will build a casino of at least 1.2 hectares (2.96 acres,) with at least 120 gaming tables and 1,200 slot machines, as well as a luxury hotel, conference center and a sports center.

The land area is a mess of abandoned weeds on crumbling concrete tarmacs, decrepit buildings and rusting aircraft, sitting unused for some 18 years, after the opening of the new airport northeast of Greece’s capital.