Hard Rock Athens bid reportedly rejected for technical reasons

Greece has put Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment into the next phase of a long-delayed tender process to build and operate a luxury casino resort in Athens, but rejected Hard Rock International (HRI), according to a source close to the matter cited by Reuters on Tuesday.

The two U.S. groups had bid in October for the construction and 30-year operation of the casino resort, with Mohegan partnered by Greek construction company GEK Terna.

The winner of the tender will build a casino on a site of at least 1.2 hectares, with a minimum of 120 gaming tables and 1,200 slot machines. There will also be a luxury hotel, entertainment venues, a conference center and sports center in a planned 8 billion euro tourist resort on the site of the former Athens airport in Hellinikon.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the source said that Hard Rock submitted documents that failed to meet the tender’s criteria for financing of the project and required construction experience. Local newspaper Kathimerini reports that the Hellenic Gaming Commission (EEEP) has unanimously accepted the conclusions of the committee for the tender of the Elliniko casino concerning the rejection of the bid by HRI in a 9-0 vote Friday. According to that newspaper’s sources, the company’s bid has been rejected for technical reasons and for the substance of its offer, and the tender committee took three months before it reached its conclusions, so as to attain a well-documented decision in legal terms.

Once the bidders are officially notified of the decision, they have the right to appeal within 10 days. The opening of the technical offers will then follow.