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City of Dreams casino flags August debut, project capex rises to Rs 33.6b
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City of Dreams Sri Lanka casino, operated by Macau casino owner and developer Melco Resorts & Entertainment in a strategic partnership with diversified conglomerate John Keells Holdings, is preparing to open in August.
The casino project including hotels, mall and conferencing spaces, has been 10 years in the making.
Housed in a standout building in Colombo, the casino is certain to mirror what visitors experience in Melco’s distinctive gambling spaces in City of Dreams Macau, where blackjack (played with four, six or eight decks of cards; a two-card total of 21 is called a ‘blackjack’) is the overwhelming favourite of millions of Hong Kong Chinese and Chinese mainland gamblers.
JKH noted the August opening in quarterly and annual financial filings, just weeks after Sri Lanka gazetted a drab gambling regulatory regime, which allows junket operators, unlike Macau, where promoters who entice ‘whales’, the VIPs for a commission, are restricted due to financial crimes red flags.
Melco Resorts subsidiary Bluehaven Services (Private) Limited was given a 20-year licence by the previous Government for a fee of HK$129.880 million (about Rs 4.95 billion).
Macau even requires fixed annual and variable premiums per gambling table, and obliges licensees to contribute a slice of gross gambling revenue for tourism promotion, urban development and social security. Every year, Macau audits capital investments made by casinos.
JKH reported that capital expenditure for the casino project in 2024/25 was Rs. 33.61b, rising from Rs. 21.51b in the previous financial year. This was out of Rs.49.89b group capex.
Gambling equipment will be set up over the next few months, and staff are being hired for the ultra high-end Nüwa hotel in the top five floors of Cinnamon Life hotel. JKH will pay management fees to Melco Resorts & Entertainment for managing the Nüwa hotel. The mall is nearly complete.
The number of gambling tables has not been made public.
Melco Resorts & Entertainment is spending US$125m (about Rs 4.77b) for fitting out the casino. The gambling space is larger than the retail mall.
The project company, JKH subsidiary, Waterfront Properties (Pvt) Ltd is not required to pay taxes for 10 years from the first year of profit, or three years from operations. JKH further invested Rs.27.2b in WPL after committing Rs.19.5b in 2024 to finance the project development costs.
WPL, which is also the holding company of residential and office spaces at Cinnamon Life, “recorded notable losses’’ in 2024/25 JKH said. A US$207m term loan of WPL falls due for repayment in December 2026 — the final portion being US$175m.
JKH, which has large consumer businesses, believes the casino and the deep water West Container Terminal will “redefine the group, and its performance’’.
JKH also has entered a new energy vehicle business for the first time, importing and selling China’s BYD cars with an investment of Rs. 270m for a 50% stake. Within days of reporting JKH financial results, the vehicle business introduced the premium brand Denza, the result of a joint-venture with Germany’s Daimler. BYD and John Keells CG Auto signed a memorandum of understanding.
This week, JKH reported that group net profit more than halved falling by 53% to Rs. 5.32b versus Rs.11.24b in 2023/24. Net profit margin dropped to 1.5% from 3.5% the previous year. Group revenue grew by 13% to Rs. 317.38b. The dividend payout was just 5 cents. JKH post-tax profit fell to Rs.3.5b from Rs.4.2b.
Melco Resorts & Entertainment is majority owned by Melco International Development, listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The company is chaired by Lawrence Ho Yau-lung, a son of the late Stanley Ho Hung-sun, a dominant figure in the casino business of Macau, the former Portuguese colony.
City of Dreams Macau, which opened in 2009, is Melco’s flagship and is reputed for its Michelin-star restaurants such as the three-Michelin-star Jade Dragon and two-Michelin-star French restaurant Alain Ducasse), entertainment, and luxury hotels, including the stunning Morpheus, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect, the late Dame Zaha Hadid.
Rolling chip volume (chips wagered by high rollers and lost) of City of Dreams Macau (430 gambling tables and 613 gambling machines) increased to US$6.05b in the first quarter of 2025.
For the year ended December 31 2024, Melco Resorts reported a loss of HK$780m compared with HK$1.74b for 2023.
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