Since opening its doors last March, the Princess Casino has seen an average 4,566 clients per month, its manager Philip Svensen says.
The casino was opened to the public on March 19, 2010 and according to Svensen up to the end of February 2011 it had 54,795 guests, accounting for the monthly average. He also said that the casino “is still not operating at full capacity given that local players are not allowed entry.” Only hotel guests and foreign passport holders are allowed entry to the casino, he noted.
At the official opening of the US$2M facility last year, President Jagdeo had hinted at a relaxation of legislation that bars locals from patronising the casino. “We have had to put limitations on who come into these casinos. But frankly speaking, it is particularly bothersome to me that the legislation that we have passed, which I fully subscribe to, creates a situation… akin to apartheid,” Jagdeo said. “How it evolves in the future, I don’t know, but there’re various forces acting at this point in time…. For me, particularly, this is something that I find distasteful. Guyanese should be able to enjoy all the choices in their own country,” he added.
Following this statement, the political opposition and sections of the religious community expressed uneasiness about the likely implications. However, no further pronouncement was made on the issue by the President or any other government official. The Las Vegas-style casino was the thirtieth such facility constructed internationally by the Princess Group. It has 300 slot machines and 11 gaming tables.
Director of Operations for Princess Casinos in the Americas Oguz Tayanc, at the launch of the casino, had spoken about targeting customers from Brazil. It is unclear how successful this initiative has been.
The hotel management had also talked about constructing an entertainment complex above the casino. The centre is expected to have a two-screen movie theatre, a bowling alley, a luxury lounge-bar, and an arcade for children. There has been some delay in the project.
Svensen told Stabroek News that the majority of equipment for the cinema, bowling alley and nightclub were on site awaiting installation. However, he said that the delay was mainly due to problems importing equipment. Work on this project was expected to start last week, with an approximate completion time of three to four months. The completion of the complex is dependent on the timely arrival of all other necessary materials, Svensen noted.
The Turkish hotel group “Princess” purchased the Buddy’s International Hotel in 2008 at a price of US$15 million. The hotel had been developed in time for the 2007 World Cup Cricket at a total cost of US$12 million by local businessman Omprakash ‘Buddy’ Shivraj, who had taken several mortgages from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry and benefited from a $165.7 million advance on the sale of rooms to the government.
