The Gaming Board is set to formally consider the proposed casino licenses for PNK Exuma and the Baha Mar Enterprises Ltd. next week as both enterprises pursue plans to either establish or expand their interests in The Bahamas.
PNK intends to invest $5 million into the operation of a casino at the Four Seasons Emerald Bay Resort in Exuma, while Baha Mar wants to take over the enterprise already in operation at the Wyndham Nassau Resort on Cable Beach.
The applications will be considered during the board’s sitting planned for next Friday in Freeport, Grand Bahama.
Secretary to the Gaming Board Bernard K. Bonamy told the Bahama Journal that the public hearing on the licenses takes place after the board conducts due diligence to determine whether the applicants are competent enough to hold casino licenses.
“Once the public hearing is held, where we invite people who wish to object to do so, a report is completed and it is submitted to the Minister responsible for gaming,” Mr. Bonamy said.
Persons with objections are being urged to submit them in writing to the Gaming Board by this Thursday outlining the grounds for their objections.
PNK is the trade name for Pinnacle Entertainment, which announced last year that it has signed a letter of intent to sublease adjoining premises from the Emerald Bay Resort for the casino planned for approximately 5,000-square-feet of space.
Company executives had expected the operation to open in late 2005, but it was contingent upon the company receiving approvals from Bahamian governmental authorities, including the Hotel Corporation of the Bahamas and the Gaming Board and execution of a final lease agreement.
Daniel Lee, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, had projected that the casino operation would have been up and running sooner.
“We are excited to add a luxury casino in the Bahamas to our expanding gaming portfolio,” he said after the letter of intent had been signed. “As Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma is currently operational and the shell of the casino is complete, the timeline to opening of our casino should be relatively short.”
Starwood Hotels and Resorts has renewed its commitment to the Bahamas by joining forces with Baha Mar and Harrah’s Entertainment for a $1.6 billion “resort metropolis” at Cable Beach.
Baha Mar plans to invest $7 million in the renovation of the former Crystal Palace Casino at the Wyndham.
The upgrade is expected to include a reconfigured floor layout and an allocation of over $4 million for 30 table games and 460 state of the art slot machines to be installed.
The development will include a new 1,000-room Caesars Resort Hotel and a 95,000 sq ft casino operated by Harrah’s.
Securing the casino license is considered pivotal in the billion dollar plans to redevelop the Cable Beach properties.
Once the Gaming Board has its sitting, officials intend to begin compiling their report complete with recommendations on the application approvals. But Mr. Bonamy declined to give a deadline, indicating that the matter would then rest with the minister responsible.
By: Tameka Lundy, The Bahama Journal
