 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Shopping Centers Today -> May 2002
 PRINT THIS STORY: |
  CHANGE TEXT SIZE: |
|
MONTECASINO: NOT ALL CASINOS HAD IT EASY
 |
| Montecasino faced a retail revolt and a jewelry robbery in its first year. |
A good portion of the retail property development industry has been groaning about casinos in South Africa ever since 1996, when the government passed legislation allowing up to 40 of them to open in the country.
They say the 24 gaming facilities that have already opened are luring consumers away from shopping centers and mopping up consumer cash that could otherwise be recycled through the economy by way of retail.
As if that were not enough, in November 2000 MGM Grand South Africa opened Montecasino, a 295,000-square-foot casino, retail, entertainment and hotel complex.
But if retail property developers eye casinos warily, perhaps the sad story of Montecasino, in Fourways, a town north of Johannesburg, might provide them some comfort. With 38 percent of its gross leasable area apportioned to retail, Montecasino imitates an Italian village, complete with cobbled streets and piazzas, capped by a faux-sky ceiling similar to the Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas.
It has been a tempestuous first year for Montecasino. Some of its 40 retailers closed within six to eight months after the grand opening, said Rob Collins, CEO of MGM Grand South Africa, which manages all of the Tsogo Sun casinos there.
Then, in February last year, a gang bearing AK-47 assault rifles cleared out the stock of three of its jewelry shops. Meanwhile, fed up with the casino’s customers, who seemed to prefer slot machines over shopping, a handful of unhappy tenants refused to pay their rents.
But Collins nevertheless remains upbeat about Montecasino’s future. The landlord said it has since worked closely with the individual tenants to put their concerns to rest. At press time Montecasino had a vacancy rate of less than 6 percent.
 | Current Issue March 2010 |