- White Sox heading for worst season in MLB history
- China the top challenge in US history: senior diplomat
- Hong Kong democracy tycoon's son warns time running out
- New migraine drugs no better than cheap painkillers: big study
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs again denied bail in sex trafficking case
- Brewers clinch division title as MLB playoff race heats up
- Man City blunted by 'giant' Inter in Champions League stalemate
- US stocks dip despite larger Fed interest rate cut
- Man City held by Inter as PSG pinch win in Champions League
- All Blacks recall Beauden Barrett for Australia Test
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 20, wound 450
- Spurs late show saves Postecoglou blushes at Coventry
- PSG snatch late goal to beat Champions League debutants Girona
- Gittens' late double gives Dortmund Champions League win at Brugge
- Man City blunted by Inter in Champions League stalemate
- Hidden talent: French Olympic star Marchand opts for disguise
- MrBeast named in California lawsuit over 'Beast Games' show
- Gauff splits with Gilbert as coach after 14-month run
- Hundreds of thousands at risk in Sudan's El-Fasher: UN
- Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge
- Venezuelan opposition candidate says letter conceding election was coerced
- Ukraine official claims Russian advance in Kursk has been 'stopped'
- X update allows app to bypass Brazil ban: internet providers
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 14, wound 450
- US Fed makes aggressive rate cut, weeks before election
- Arsenal's Odegaard faces lengthy injury absence
- India coal expansion risks massive methane growth: report
- China the top challenge in US history, top diplomat says
- US Fed makes larger half-point cut in first reduction since 2020
- Ronaldo's Al Nassr appoint former AC Milan boss Pioli
- Ainslie 'relieved' as British book place in Louis Vuitton Cup final
- Struggling Roma replace sacked icon De Rossi with Ivan Juric
- Women's NBA will add 15th team in Portland in 2026
- Brazil fires need harsher punishment: environmental police boss
- Boeing to start large temporary furloughs amid Seattle strike
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill nine, wound 300
- 'Emergency' declared over falling UK butterfly numbers
- McIlroy outlines threats to golf peace deal
- Stock markets, dollar slip before US rate decision
- Russian advance in Kursk 'stopped': Ukraine official to AFP
- UN members demand end to 'unlawful' Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
- Snapchat pushes 'safer' platform image, but not everyone agrees
- Three dead, 100 wounded in new wave of Lebanon device explosions
- So where does the oceans' plastic waste come from?
- Allied war heroes buried in Netherlands... 80 years on
- Marsh coy over Australia's choice to open alongside Head
- New London sculpture pays tribute to trans community
- Lebanon doctors tell of horror after pager blasts
- McIlroy eyes Wentworth glory after Irish Open collapse
- Italy seen overtaking France as world's largest wine producer
RBGPF | 5.79% | 60.5 | $ | |
BCC | 1.33% | 137.06 | $ | |
JRI | 0.45% | 13.44 | $ | |
BCE | 3.09% | 35.61 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.02% | 25.055 | $ | |
NGG | -0.46% | 70.05 | $ | |
SCS | 0.71% | 14.11 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.12% | 24.98 | $ | |
RIO | -0.02% | 62.91 | $ | |
RELX | -0.82% | 47.37 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.37% | 6.55 | $ | |
GSK | -0.31% | 42.43 | $ | |
VOD | 0.49% | 10.23 | $ | |
BTI | -0.34% | 37.88 | $ | |
AZN | 0.06% | 78.58 | $ | |
BP | -0.37% | 32.43 | $ |
Casino operator to develop 'gaming' resort in UAE
A US-based casino operator on Tuesday announced plans to develop a multi-billion-dollar resort off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a Muslim state in the Gulf where gambling is prohibited.
Wynn Resorts, along with UAE property developer Marjan, said in a statement that an "integrated resort", including "gaming facilities", will be set up on Al-Marjan island in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.
Ras al-Khaimah is one of the seven members of the UAE, which includes the city state of Dubai.
Tuesday's announcement comes as the Ras al-Khaimah tourism development authority (RAKTDA) said it formed a new division focused on the regulation of integrated resorts.
"These include hotel operations, convention space, entertainment, restaurants and lounges, spa, retail and gaming facilities," it said in a statement.
"The foremost priority of this new division is to create a robust framework that will ensure responsible gaming at all levels."
However, it did not clarify whether "gaming" refers to gambling, and both RAKTDA and Marjan did not respond to requests for comment.
The planned resort in Ras al-Khaimah will include more than 1,000 hotel rooms, meeting and convention facilities, restaurants, a spa, and a gaming area.
It is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
UAE authorities have for years denied reports that the country which neighbours Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, is to lift an Arabian Gulf-wide ban on gambling.
In 2020, the UAE revamped an array of laws in a social liberalisation drive designed to burnish its brand.
These included lifting a ban on unmarried couples living together, loosening restrictions on alcohol, and offering long-term residencies.
The country has this year moved to a Western-style Saturday-Sunday weekend, in what experts said was an attempt to maintain its edge over regional competitors, particularly Saudi Arabia.
The Emirates became the only Gulf country not to observe weekends on a Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, and Saturday.
Foreigners in the UAE make up 90 percent of its 10-million population.
J.Horn--BTB