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Cape Town - Sun International Ltd, one of South Africa's largest hotel and gaming groups, will open its Sibaya Casino & Entertainment Kingdom in Umhlanga, outside Durban, on November 19.
Sun International owns such resorts as Sun City, the five-star Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town, GrandWest Casino in Cape Town and Zimbali Lodge, while its casinos include Carnival City, Wild Coast, Carousel, Flamingo, Morula, Sugarmill, and Thaba'Nchu.
As with its other properties, the company owns Sibaya via a subsidiary, Afrisun, a black empowerment group.
Sibaya will replace Afrisun's temporary Durban casino, SugarMill in Mount Edgecomb, which has been running for over two years.
Sun and other South African gaming groups have been benefiting from the country's consumer-friendly economic conditions, which have led to higher disposable income, and therefore more being spent in gaming across the country.
This has been offset to some extent by more difficult trading conditions at the group's top-end hotels, which have experienced lower offshore bookings due to the strong rand.
Sun International said on Monday that Sibaya had been built at a total estimated cost of R727m, just over the project's original budget of R650m.
Currently it was countdown time to the opening, with interior designers, decorators and shop-fitters having moved onto the site to create the "magical" finishing touches.
Sitting on top of a hill just north of Umhlanga Rocks in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Sibaya would be easily accessible from the M4 (coastal road) as well as the national N2.
The interchange construction linking the northbound N2 to the Casino and the M4 was due to open on schedule, the company added, allowing visitors easy access to the 2 200 parking facility from all directions.
Over 900 brand new slot machines have been positioned on the Casino floor and are currently undergoing rigorous testing. These machines are a first for the country, Kaatze said, offering punters a truly unique gaming experience using smartcard technology.
Aqua is the upmarket seafood restaurant at the Casino, with breathtaking views of the sea looking south towards Durban. Its central tubular aquarium has been fitted and will soon be home to some 100 luminous jellyfish.
Finishing touches are being done to A2A Theatre of Food deluxe buffet, which also boasts spectacular views of the ocean, overlooking the exquisitely landscaped gardens of the property and the Zulu Cultural Village.
Dramatic mosaic murals have been created on the walls of both the fast food court and A2A. Completing the dining experience is the Sondela restaurant in the Zulu Cultural Village, which will serve traditional African fusion cuisine, and the Royal Court Prive, an a la carte restaurant.
A triple-story evening entertainment venue, the Krakatoa Show Bar, is also taking shape as seating has been fitted and two three-story lava lamps await installation.