April 15 – Three top Gauteng casinos will be facing major expansion, announced South African gambling operator, Tsogo Sun.

The Johannesburg listed group said that it had plans to upgrade Silverstar Casino, Gold Reef City and Montecasino, with the intention of spending millions of rands if the plans are approved by the Gauteng Gambling Board.

According to the CEO of Tsogo Sun, Marcel von Aulock, the group has set aside R150 million on charitable and social developments in the province, which should help the group to have its upgrade applications approved by the Gauteng Gambling Board.

The group is set to spend R480 million on the expansion and redevelopment of the Silverstar Casino.

Gold Reef City Casino and theme park will also receive a significant upgrade, with a total of R750 million earmarked for the improvement of the facilities at these two Gauteng gambling locations.

Tsogo Sun expects that the refurbishment of Gold Reef City and Silverstar Casino will be completed within two years.
Expansion of Montecasino

Work on the expansion of Montecasino will begin at a later date, with no estimate to how much will be spent available just yet.

Von Aulock said that Tsogo Sun has “a track record of successful investment at Montecasino which will continue.” He pointed out that the casino group has invested R1 billion to invest in Montecasino between 2007 and 2010 but admitted that Montecasino had “never kept up with the natural growth in the market.”

Although Montecasino has grown since 2000 when it had only one hotel and 250 rooms, compared to today’s three hotels and 650 rooms, von Aulock said that the “casino floor is essentially the same size as it has been since day one.”

“What we’ve done here is probably got greater capacity than we need right now, but we’ve secured capacity for continued long term growth,” he said. “The casino side of it has to keep up with the balance of the development.”

Tsogo Sun also added restaurant and parking components, as well as 6,000 m2 of office space since 2000.
Plans for Gold Reef City

The plans to expand Gold Reef City casino and park have not yet been completed, but Tsogo Sun said that the casino would be extended, with the introduction of restaurants and cinemas.

“In addition, the ever popular Gold Reef City Theme Park will receive additional food and beverage outlets, improved access systems and an improved linkage to the casino complex,” said von Aulock about the Tsogo Sun casino upgrade.

Source: GamblingSA