Grant Johnson to head CoD Mediterranean

Wednesday 8th of July 2020

Melco Resorts & Entertainment has promoted Grant Johnson as senior vice president, property general manager, of its City of Dreams Mediterranean project and Cyprus Casinos.

Johnson replaces Craig Ballantyne who retired on April 1. He will report to Evan Andrew Winkler, President of Melco.

“With his proven track record of delivering growth for the company I am confident that we can continue pushing boundaries as a global leader in innovative luxury entertainment offerings,” Melco CEO Lawrence Ho said in a press release. “This promotion represents Melco’s commitment to internal career opportunities. I also wish to thank Mr. Craig Ballantyne for his outstanding service to Melco as Property President of City of Dreams Mediterranean and Cyprus Casinos and wish him the very best for his retirement.”

Prior to this promotion, Johnson was SVP, Casino Sales, Marketing & Operations at Studio City in Macau, and previously was SVP, Casino Sales & Marketing for Altira Macau and Mocha Clubs.

Before joining Melco, he was with Sands China Ltd. from 2007-2011 in a variety of marketing roles and was Executive Director, Destination Marketing when he left.

CoD Mediterranean will be the largest integrated resort in Europe. It was originally scheduled to open late next year, though it’s currently unclear as to how the Covid-19 closures will have affected timelines. Work on the resort re-commenced on May 6th.

City of Dreams Mediterranean will be located in Zakaki, Limassol. It will feature a sixteen-story Five-Star hotel with 500 guest rooms and suites as well as MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) facilities covering 9,600 sq. meters. The gaming area covers a total 7,500 sq. meters and will include over 100 tables and 1,000 state-of-the-art gaming machines. Its interior design is based on Melco’s international luxury standards, personalised specifically for the Cyprus ICR, while the exterior design features distinct Mediterranean influences.

The group is already operating four satellite casinos on the island.