Cyprus Casinos (C2), the first legal casino facility in the Republic of Cyprus, welcomed 34,000 individual guests during its first three weeks of operation, owner Melco International Development said in a statement from earlier today.

The venue opened doors June 28 in the city of Limassol. It will operate temporarily while Melco’s main integrated resort City of Dreams Mediterranean is under development. The €550-million property is expected to open doors in Limassol in 2021.

Cyprus Casinos or C2 currently features 242 slot machines and 33 gaming tables, a Salon Prive VIP gaming area, a restaurant, and two bars. The venue is operational 24/7 and admits patrons aged 21 or over.

Melco further revealed today that 6,000 customers have registered with the casino’s C2 Rewards Club loyalty program since it launched.

Commenting on the gambling venue’s performance during its first weeks of operation, Cyprus Casinos and City of Dreams Mediterranean President Craig Ballantyne said that visitor numbers have exceeded their expectations so far. The official further pointed out that customers from 41 different countries have come to play at the property. The majority of them were Cypriots, followed by patrons from Greece, Israel, Romania, Russia and the United Kingdom. Slots and American Roulette were the games that enjoyed the greatest popularity among casino visitors, Mr. Ballantyne added.

While Melco seems to be content with how its first property outside Asia has performed during its first days of operation, Mr. Ballantyne has previously said that the casino is forced to battle competition from Northern Cyprus where there is a well-developed casino industry represented by a number of established casino properties.

Talking to local news outlet Cyprus Mail, Mr. Ballantyne has also said that the multitude of illegal casino operations spread across the tiny Mediterranean nation could prove to be difficult to compete with. The official, known to be a casino industry veteran, has explained that the play field is somewhat uneven, particularly given the fact that Cyprus has very strict advertising limitations which prevent Melco from promoting its casino more actively.

Despite the above issues, Mr. Ballantyne said today that the accelerating attendance rate at the property is the result from a positive word of mouth and self-discovery.

The company has pointed out multiple times that it would look to combat seasonality and turn both its temporary casino and its main resort into an all-season destination. Seasonality has long been one of the main issues before Cyprus’ tourism industry.

Foreign visits to the island nation have been on the rise over the past several years, but summer months have traditionally remained the most popular time for visiting. The Cypriot government announced earlier this month that it would establish a special Junior Ministry of Tourism that would be assigned the task to reverse that long-standing trend.

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