Gaming Board Approves Casino Licenses

The board also intends to recommend to the minister responsible for gaming Obie Wilchcombe that the companies be allowed to move forward with their plans, Secretary Bernard K. Bonamy told the Bahama Journal.

The decision was made at the board’s sitting in Freeport on Friday.

But the minister must grant his approval before the companies are allowed to proceed.

PNK intends to invest $5 million into the operating 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 board formally considered the applications after it had conducted due diligence to determine whether the companies were competent enough to hold casino licenses.

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.

Just recently, Starwood Hotels and Resorts joined 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. 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.