Harrah’s, the world’s largest casino operator, on Monday unveiled plans with US hotelier Starwood and developer Baha Mar Resorts to build a $1.6bn (ﾣ910m, ﾀ1.35bn) casino-resort in the Bahamas in what will be the largest resort in the Caribbean.
Baha Mar, as the resort on Cable Beach in Nassau is called, would feature four hotels under Starwood’s Westin, Sheraton, W and St Regis brands; a 95,000 square foot casino under the Caesars brand plus a a 1,000-room hotel; a “village” with shopping, restaurants and entertainment venues; 20 acres of beach and pool; the Caribbean’s largest luxury spa; and a Jack Nicklaus golf course.
Construction is to begin in 2007, with the opening scheduled for 2010.
Baha Mar is expexted to generate $400m in wages over five years and create 5,000 jobs.
The resort is a joint-venture, with Baha Mar Resorts claiming a 56.66 per cent stake; Harrah’s, 33.33 per cent; and Starwood, 10 per cent.
Like many large hoteliers that are taking advantage of a booming real estate market, Starwood has been selling non-core hotel properties to focus more on management. But its equity stake in Baha Mar reflects a push from developers for hotel operators to have a more vested interest in new properties.
Harrah’s first venture in the Caribbean ties in with its strategy to use the upscale Caesars brand to expand globally. Harrah’s, which acquired Caesars Entertainment for $9bn this summer, is part of pack of operators keen to build casinos in Singapore.
Strong business at Sands Macao, the first foreign casino to open on the former Portuguese enclave, has whetted appetite to gain a foothold in the burgeoning Asian casino market.
By Amy Yee in New York
Source: Financial Times
