Dome developer Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) has fended off claims that it has “cheated” by starting casino building works early.
David Campbell, AEG’s chief executive in Europe, rejected a report by the Evening Standard that it jumped the gun by beginning structural works before the Casino Advisory Board has made its decision.
Speaking this afternoon at a public hearing before the Casino Advisory Panel, which will issue the first supercasino licence, Campbell said the story was “categorically untrue”.
“The structure has the benefit of planning permission,” he said. “If we’re granted a licence, we’ll be on track to providing a casino. To stop construction works for six to 12 months would be very foolish.”
Campbell also told the panel that if AEG’s licence application was unsuccessful, it would leave the building as a shell rather than replace it with another scheme in the hope the government will rethink its one-casino policy.
“The government has the ability to go back and change the number from one if they so wish, if parliament agrees,” he said.
References: EGi News 30/08/06
