Caesars Entertainment Corp. announced today plans to operate two hotels and a beach club in Dubai. The properties will be located on the artificial Bluewaters Island, off the Jumeirah Beach Residence coast line, and are slated to open doors in the fourth quarter of the year.

The two resorts will not feature casinos as gambling is banned across the United Arab Emirates. They will be Caesars’ first-ever non-gaming properties.

The Las Vegas gaming and hospitality giant said in a statement from earlier today that it has partnered local real estate, tourism, and hospitality company Meraas Holding to work with in Dubai.

As mentioned above, Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai and Caesars Bluewaters Dubai are expected to launch later this year. The former, named after Caesars’ flagship property Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, will feature 178 luxury hotel rooms, two outdoor and one indoor swimming pools, a spa and a health center, an event center, a business center, and six restaurants. The property will also include facilities for meeting and conference activity.

Caesars Bluewaters Dubai will have 301 hotel rooms for guests, two swimming pools, both of which located outdoors, three meeting rooms, a 9,000-square-foot event hall, and food and beverage facilities. Both hotels will provide their guests with access to a nearly 5,000-square-foot private beach.

The two new resorts come as a manifestation of Dubai’s strategy to diversify its economy and improve the experience the city offers to both residents and visitors under the Dubai Plan 2021.

Announcing its Dubai hotel resorts, Caesars embarks on a planned expansion of its global footprint which it first revealed last spring. The company’s main operating unit recently emerged from bankruptcy and is now looking for opportunities to extend its presence across the globe.

Dubai is the first new destination Caesars is entering as part of its growth strategy and the first one where the major operator will operate non-gaming facilities. Bob Morse, President of Hospitality for Caesars, told media that the Gulf region is gradually becoming an attractive investment destination with the efforts made by local rulers to reduce states’ dependence on oil and diversify their economies.

Commenting on the fact that the two Dubai hotels would not feature casinos, Mr. Morse said that while gambling is prohibited in the region, it has a large expatriate population and part of their Gulf customers would certainly feel attracted to Caesars’ casino gaming resorts across the United States.

The official further pointed out that the Las Vegas gaming and hospitality giant has set sights on other parts of the world and would expand its non-gaming business even more in the coming years. Mr. Morse revealed that they are actively pursuing expansion opportunities across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

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