Six casino operators have formally thrown their hat into the ring for the lone casino license in the Greek-controlled southern half of Cyprus.

Late last month, Cyprus officially opened the tender for its lone casino license, following Parliament’s overdue passage in July of the necessary casino legislation. On Sunday, Cyprus Weekly reported that six operators had anted up the required €10k fee to be considered for the gig.

The eager six are an international mix including Malaysia’s Genting, America’s Hard Rock International, South Africa’s Sun International, Cambodia’s NagaCorp and French conglomerate Bouygues. The latter company is known more for online gambling than the brick-and-mortar variety, but has reportedly entered into a partnership with a local Cypriot firm.

The government expects more applicants to come forward, and ultimately hopes to attract up to 15 expressions of interest before the tender closes on December 18. In January, the government claimed 13 operators had expressed interest in acquiring the license, so these other seven have either gotten cold feet or are still crafting ways to make their bid stand out from the pack. (Helpful hint: fill the envelope with glitter. Ta-DAAA!)