Next year, Valencia will have its first casino run by Cirsa group, the giant gambling operator that owns the Monte Picayo de Puçol Casino in the Comunitat Valenciana and the gaming hall opened last year in Gandia.

Cirsa together with their business partners, Gesfesa and two other local companies, are considering to locate the casino next to the Palacio de Congresos.

However, this was not the first location thought by Manuel Lao, who owns Cirsa. He had already contacted people from the Valencia soccer club to build the luxurious hotel and casino on a 7,000 m2 area, now occupied by the Mestalla stadium, after moving the club’s facilities.

Despite both properties belonging to Cirsa, the new casino would compete with the old Monte Picayo, located only 30 kilometers away. The Monte Picayo Casino and the new one to be built represent one of the two licenses approved by the Comunitat since the 70s. The other license was given to Casino Mediterraneo de Vila-Joisa, in Alicante.

Cirsa’s casino division earned 288 million euros last year, and they aim to make over 342 million in 2006 as a result of the opening of new halls during 2005. Nowadays, the group owns a total of 14 casinos placed in Spain and ten Latin American and Caribbean countries.