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Government to Break Deal Between Millennium Dome's Owner and Kerzner International

The Government is trying to break the deal between Anschutz Entertainment Group, the owner of the Millennium Dome, and Kerzner International. Kerzner International has been given the rights to manage and operate Millennium Dome's casino in Greenwich, England. They are also operating gambling casinos in the Bahamas and Dubai.

In 2003, Anschutz Entertainment Group signed the agreement stating that in the event they are awarded the super-casino license they will commit to working with Kerzner International.

Tessa Jowell, Culture Secretary, insisted that whichever company won they would still need to have the business open for a "fair and square" process.

Company Director of AEG, David Campbell said, "Our landlord is English Partnerships, which is a government-sponsored agency. Clearly, if we have a bigger project, they get more rent. It's in everyone's interest for (the Millennium Dome) to be a more developed scheme than a less developed scheme."

As Campbell further stated, "If we have a tent empty then we will be paying less rent than if we had the whole tent full."

Greenwich's panel members were surprised that AEG has entered into an agreement with Kerzner. The Greenwich Council had expressed that no one had come to them about a casino being opened in the Millennium Dome.

The Gambling Commission has given the Councils warning with regard to the legality of partnerships this year, "Think carefully before entering into any agreements or arrangements with potential casino operators which might be perceived to affect their ability to exercise their stage 2 functions objectively and without having prejudged any of the issues."

AEG's spokesman said: "We haven't been told this, but we accept it is up to Greenwich to select the operator. This is an open process and we believe that we are the only people who have applied so far. We are happy to go through any process, municipal or national."

 

Monday, February 05 , 2007
Victor Copeland