Montecasino - the superior gaming and leisure destination

A hallmark of Montecasino is its many entertainment options - some unique, some special - all exciting. With today’s consumer being faced with a myriad of entertainment choices, competition for discretionary spend is at its highest level ever and consumers are seeing the benefit of innovative new concepts in entertainment, reduced prices and special offers, as companies vie for a slice of the consumer’s monthly entertainment budget.

This vast project is Tsogo Sun’s flagship development and is one of five licences currently held by the company, the others being for Emnotweni Casino in Nelspruit, Champions Casino in Witbank, the casino on the Durban Village Green site and the recently-awarded East London licence.

Tsogo Sun is a dynamic partnership between Tsogo Investments, a broad-based black empowerment grouping, and Southern Sun, a leading southern African hotel operator, who will manage the hotel side of the operation. Gaming expertise is provided by Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage, one of the world’s largest casino and entertainment resort operators.

Montecasino is based on traditional Italian architecture and features dynamic theming carried throughout the entire complex. Designed to replicate an ancient hilltop village, with cobbled streets, fountains, piazzas and a town square, Montecasino provides a leisure venue within a secure and uniquely themed environment.

Inside this village, an 8 500m² casino with some 2 120 gaming positions (including no less than 1 700 slot machines and 70 gaming tables) provides the anchor of the development. Here, the entertainment-seeker will find something to suit his every desire – Roulette, Poker, Blackjack, Punto Banco, Dice.

For those who prefer to give the slots a spin, there are 700 novelty slots, some of which are the first to be launched worldwide, and no less than 17 progressive jackpots, including Fountains of Fortune, which pays out R500 000 on the 50c machine, R1 000 000 on the R1 progressive and R2 000 000 on the R2 progressive.

And, as a perfect accompaniment to the excitement of the casino, a vast retail area, under a cloud-filled sky ceiling, provides a whole new concept in ‘shoppertainment’. Visitors can enjoy a retail experience which goes beyond purchasing of desired items – this is shopping with entertainment value.

“The aim is to ensure that people can feel that they can go to Montecasino not only to acquire commodities, but also to browse and be entertained in a vibrant but relaxing atmosphere,” says Gavin Rimmer, Complex General Manager of Montecasino.

Vibrant street theatre adds entertainment value and reinforces the impression of being in an ancient Tuscan village. And one of the most distinctive aspects of the development is the variety of different restaurants, with their unusual designs.

With restaurant concepts developed by some of South Africa’s best-known restaurateurs, such as Costa Tomazos, who is famous for starting the Squires Loft chain, and, more recently, Origins at Sandton City, dining out has entertainment value.

Tomazos offers very different dining experiences: The Meat Company (a restaurant specialising in superior cuts of meat), Meze5 (offering traditional food from five Mediterranean countries as well as fusion food from these countries), Zenbu (a restaurant rooted in Japanese food culture but which, at the same time, provides a vibrant contact point where East meets West) and a Latino bar called SASA’s.

Another innovative facility is DK Chen’s Pan Asian Restaurant, which incorporates a sushi bar, a Japanese noodle bar, a Chinese noodle bar, a Korean restaurant, a traditional Chinese restaurant and a Chinese delicatessen, offering a taste of the many cultures of Asia.

There are numerous ‘nightspots’, such as Keystone Café, a bar/restaurant operated by the owners of the News Café and an innovative new pub concept by McGinty’s, which is divided into seven sections, each showcasing different décor and memorabilia. Taking this archetype pub from concept to reality and designing an internationally competitive pub that was totally different to anything South African consumers have seen before has required the expertise of international firm which has been specialising in Irish pub development and manufacturing for 150 years.

Montecasino’s 24-hour restaurant, Da Vinci’s, is operated by Southern Sun and offers meals to suit all ethnic and cultural preferences, as well as snacks and light meal options.

The two anchor tenants in the retail component of Montecasino are Nu Metro and The Magic Company.

One example of Montecasino’s commitment to pushing the creative envelope can be seen at Nu Metro. Renowned for its innovative approach to entertainment, Nu Metro has established its flagship cinema complex at Montecasino, with the very latest sound systems in 15 cinemas and offering a total of 3 370 seats. The biggest cinema has 509 seats and boasts one of the largest commercial screens in the world, at 285m².

Groundbreaking CCTS sound technology in Nu Metro’s cinemas at Montecasino embraces all three digital systems - DTS, Dolby Digital and SDDS. Hearing impaired equipment has been installed in all 15 cinemas, only the second such innovation at a Nu Metro complex. Provision has also been made for wheelchair patrons.

In addition, Nu Metro’s Montecasino flagship is one of six locations at which an exclusive new concept in cinema entertainment, the Nedbank Cinema Privé, has been introduced. The epitome of luxury and style, this “business class” concept has been developed in

collaboration with Nedcor to offer movie-goers exclusive booking counters, with dedicated lines for telephone bookings, sumptuous lounges in which complimentary finger snacks, tea and coffee are served and a full cash bar operated. In the Nedbank Cinema Privé itself, ushers guide patrons to spacious seats with extended leg room and customised drinks trays.

At Montecasino, Nu Metro also offers the facility to host corporate functions in a separate lounge with catering and bar facilities that bring a touch of Hollywood to product launches and other special events. With the benefit of a dedicated outside broadcast unit on the property, companies are able to take advantage of satellite link-ups with Nu Metro cinemas around the country, allowing them to broadcast important announcements or financial results to staff simultaneously.

“Throughout the complex, whether it is in the casino area, the hotel, the restaurants, the shops or the entertainment areas, we want our patrons to enjoy an innovative and unique experience,” says Rimmer.

This is also true at The Magic Company where, with 3 200m² of retail space, the whole family, from toddlers, to parents, to grandparents, are able to enjoy interactive family entertainment rooted in hi tech innovations geared to the 21st century. The state-of-the-art virtual reality games also offer a range of adventures, from the excitement of skateboarding for the youngsters, to the thrill of bass fishing for their parents. All this takes place under roof on two levels.

The second level, the mezzanine floor of 800 square metres, is reserved for smaller children, typically those between the ages of four and twelve. Here, parents are able to leave their children to enjoy a wonderland of exciting fun in a safe environment, including Sony playstations, soft jungle gyms, a LEGO room, and, for the girls, a dedicated dolls house. On the same level, there are new carousel and balloon rides.

A 320-seat theatre, operated by one of South Africa’s leading impresarios, Pieter Toerien, provides Gauteng residents with shows of the quality of South Africa’s longest-running production, Defending the Caveman, which was Toerien’s launch production at Montecasino.

The balance of the tenant mix is made up of speciality, festival retail and gift shops, including a furniture store, a photo shop, a LEGO lab, a candy store, a curio shop, an art gallery, a leather goods store, a florist, a tobacconist, a stationery store, and, bringing a completely unique element to Montecasino, a health hydro.

At the deluxe 246-room Palazzo Inter-Continental hotel, which is situated at the heart of this world-class development, staff are working hard to achieve a fusion of cultures, combining the atmosphere of a classical old villa with all the modern conveniences that 21st century technology has to offer. Also on the hotel premises is a fully equipped fitness centre and large swimming pool.

Given the numbers of entertainment-seekers per day to Montecasino, ample parking has been provided in the form of a seven-level parking garage, which offers just under 4 000 parking bays.

Nature-lovers and families can look forward to the opening of a Bird and Small Animal Discovery Centre at Montecasino, which will open in time for Easter. The Discovery Centre will occupy an area of up to 9 000 square metres on the Montecasino site, and will include display areas as well as various landscaped exhibits, including the largest collection of cycads in the world. The Centre will house a collection of approximately 2 000 small animals and over 200 species of birds.

Rimmer says that these exciting retail and entertainment facilities add immeasurably to Montecasino’s image as the leading leisure centre in South Africa. “This is an entertainment complex unlike any other in South Africa and we look forward to continuing to challenge the boundaries of the norm at Montecasino,” he says.