Montecasino
Encyclopedia
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
complex located at No.1 Montecasino Boulevard in Fourways, Sandton, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Montecasino is built on 26 hectares of land . It was designed and built by South African architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
company, Bentel Associates International, at a cost of R1.6 billion rand . It first opened its doors on 30 November 2000 . It currently attracts over 9.3 million visitors annually . It is themed after Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
. It has been meticulously designed to replicate an ancient Tuscan village . The main building with the casino even has a fake sky, painted on the roof, inside going from light to dark from one side to the other.
Montecasino is owned by Tsogo Sun. Tsogo Sun is a partnership between Southern Sun and Tsogo Investments. Tsogo Investments is a black empowerment group and the hotel component of Tsogo Sun's casinos are developed and managed by Southern Sun. Tsogo Sun holds the casino license for Montecasino .
Teatro
The Teatro opened its doors in May 2007. The Teatro was constructed at a cost of over R100 million and is one of the 10 largest Lyric theatres in the world. The Teatro is currently the largest theater in South Africa. It is the largest theatre at montecasino and can sit 1,870 people at full capacity . The Teatro theatre has hosted major musical productions like the Disney Broadway musical The Lion KingThe Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
in 2007. It was the first Lion King show to have an entirely local cast .
The Pivot
The Pivot is a 2010 development for montecasino. It comprises a mixture of office, retail and a new hotel.ABSA Balloon
The Hot air balloon at Montecasino is called the ABSA balloon. It is operated by the company, Aerial Displays. It is sometimes referred to as the "Jozi Eye".Awards
Montecasino has won numerous awards since 2001 . This includes the following awards:- 2009/11/30 - "The Readers Choice Awards" - Best Casino
- 2009/10/15 - "Leisure Options" - Best Cinema Complex
- 2009/10/15 - "Leisure Options" - Best Place to Take Out-of-Towners in Jozi
- 2009/10/15 - "Leisure Options" - Best Entertainment Complex
- 2009/09/08 - "PMR - Diamond Arrow" - Gauteng province - Business Sector: Leading Casino / Entertainment Centre
- 2008/08/08 - "PMR - Diamond Arrow" - Gauteng province - Business Sector: Leading Casino / Entertainment Centre
- 2008/08/08 - "The Star" - Best Casino
- 2008/09/08 - "Leisure Options" - Best Cinema Complex
- 2008/09/08 - "Leisure Options" - Best Place to Take Out-of-Towners in Jozi
- 2008/09/08 - "Leisure Options" - Best Entertainment Complex
- 2007/10/06 - "Tourism Grading Council of South Africa" - Five star grading as a Meeting, Exhibition & Special Events venue
- 2007/10/07 - "PMR - Golden arrow" - Gauteng province Business Sector: Best Casino/Entertainment Centres in Gauteng Province
- 2007/10/07 - "Leisure Options" - Best Cinema Complex
- 2007/10/07 - "Leisure Options" - Best Place to Take Out-of-Towners in Jozi
- 2007/10/07 - "Leisure Options" - Best Entertainment Complex
- 2007/10/07 - "Tourism Grading Council of South Africa" - Five star grading as a Meeting, Exhibition & Special Events venue
- 2006/10/06 - "Leisure Options" - Best Thai Restaurant - Kai Thai
- 2006/10/06 - "Leisure Options" - Best Dinner on a budget and best steakhouse - Franchise - Spur
- 2006/10/06 - "Leisure Options" - Best Fish/Seafood Restaurant - Ocean Basket
- 2006/10/06 - "Leisure Options" - Best Book Shop - Exclusive Books
- 2006/10/06 - "Leisure Options" - Best Entertainment Complex
- 2006/10/06 - "Leisure Options" - Best Ladies Night Venue - Café Vacca Matta
- 2006/10/06 - "Leisure Options" - Best Cinema complex - Montecasino Nu Metro
- 2006/10/06 - "Leisure Options" - Best Children's menu in a restaurant and best kids' party venue - indoor - Spur
- 2006/08/06 - "The Star" - Best Casino
- 2006/08/06 - "Pretoria News" - Best Casino
- 2005/08/01 - "The Star" - Best Casino
- 2005/08/01 - "Pretoria News" - Best Casino
- 2005/10/01 - "Leisure Options" - Best Entertainment Complex
- 2005/10/01 - "Leisure Options" - Best Cinema Complex
- 2005/10/01 - "PMR Gauteng Province" - Leaders and Achievers - Executive Lifestyle: Best Entertainment Centre
- 2004/10/01 - "The Star" - Best Casino
- 2004/10/01 - "Pretoria News" - Best Casino
- 2004/10/01 - "Leisure Options" - Best Entertainment Complex
- 2004/10/01 - "Leisure Options" - Best Cinema complex
- 2004/10/01 - "Leisure Options" - Best Steakhouse Franchise
- 2004/10/01 - "Leisure Options" - Best Ladies Night Venue
- 2004/06/01 - "South African Landscapers Institute" - InterContinental Palazzo Hotel Gardens won a Gold Award
- 2004/06/01 - "South African Landscapers Institute" - Montecasino Bird Gardens won a Silver Award for Maintenance of Large Landscape Gardens
- 2003/10/01 - "Leisure Options" - Best Casino
- 2003/10/01 - "ROCCI" - Service Excellence
- 2002/10/01 - "Leisure Options" - Best Casino
- 2001/10/01 - "ROCCI" - Community Contribution, Service Excellence & Special Award for Large Business Beyond ROCCI Regional Boundaries