U.S.-based operator Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has signed a letter of intent to manage casinos and hotels for the recently announced, mixed-leisure project Metropolis, to be situated in the central European country of Slovakia.

Metropolis is the latest effort from regional developer TriGranit, which has its headquarters in neighboring Hungary.

The €1.5 billion project will be constructed in phases. The initial phase, with an estimated completion date sometime in 2012, will include a hotel and casino plus two additional hotels, retail shops, a water park and a theme park. Subsequent phases will see additional casinos, conference facilities, luxury apartments and golf courses.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Harrah's potential investment in the project would be less than $50 million.

TriGranit must still obtain government approval for various aspects of the development.

The Journal article notes that Jan Jones, senior vice president of communications and government relations at Harrah's Entertainment, said it could be a while before ground is broken.

Metropolis will be built on a 30-hectare site just south of Bratislava, the Slovakian capital, near the borders with Austria and Hungary. Vienna, 70 kilometers away, is a 45-minute drive, and Budapest at 200 kilometers is about two hours. The 220-kilometer primary catchment area has a population of 29 million. However, the development is being touted by TriGranit as a destination capable of attracting visitors from all over the world.

The project is the latest example of a trend in this region toward huge developments that combine family-oriented amusement and cultural attractions, business meeting facilities and casino resorts.

In Hungary, three such projects have been announced. The €1 billion King's City is planned for the shores of Lake Velence, about 200 kilometers from the Metropolis site. The €1.3 billion Dream Island would occupy Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube River between the two sections of Budapest. And EuroVegas, which is being developed just over the border from the Metropolis site, will eventually feature five casinos-including a Hard Rock International property with 600 hotel rooms, 200 gaming tables, 3,000 slots, a 20-table poker room and an assortment of amenities.

In relatively nearby Romania, Leisure Dome will include an 86,000-square-foot casino, a 600-room hotel and a variety of business and pleasure elements, including an indoor snow ski slope. Even farther afield in Europe, in Spain, the ambitious 2,700-hectare Gran Scala project, with its 32 casinos and numerous leisure and business amenities, will dwarf the above-named efforts.

TriGranit is a real estate investment, development and management company with operations in seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The company has been involved in Slovakia since 2000, beginning with development of the Polus Center, that nation's first American-style retail and entertainment hub, in Bratislava.

Harrah's has had difficulty in establishing a significant presence in Europe. An aborted deal in Slovenia, uncertainty and delay in Spain and the disappointment of U.K. casino reform has stymied the company at practically every turn.

Now, Harrah's is counting on the vacuum left by the closing of the Russian and Ukrainian markets to give a push to this new attempt.

Jones told the Journal, "Since all of Russia gambling closed down without the new gambling districts opening, there's a belief that there's real opportunity to build new projects in surrounding countries."

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.