Notice confirms casino for Kingston hotel

Notice confirms casino for Kingston hotel
Stabroek News article. Monday 5 May 2008
http://www.stabroeknews.com/?p=3183

The hotel being built in Kingston will house a casino, according to the notice in the press for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scoping meeting to be held on May 16, 2008 at the Umana Yana.
According to the advertisement, which appeared on Tuesday last in the Guyana Chronicle, the project that is being proposed by Adam Development/Urbahn Associates Limited (ADUA) will also house an entertainment centre and swimming pool, small shops and other amenities.
The purpose of the meeting is to allow members of the public to express concerns or suggestions that should be covered by the EIA for the project. Environmental Man-agement Consultants (EMC) has been appointed by the New York-based developers ADUA to conduct the EIA for the construction of the US$52M hotel and casino complex in Kingston.
The life of the project is expected to be 30 years covering 2010 to 2040 and it expects an annual turnover of US$11M per year over the first ten years of operation.
In January last year, the National Assembly passed the Gambling Prevention (Amendment) Bill, which legalizes casino gambling. The bill provided for the establishment of a Gaming Authority authorized to issue casino licences to new luxury hotels or resort complexes with a minimum of 150 rooms.
Buddy’s International Hotel had been widely believed to be one of the main influences behind the government’s decision to move towards casino-enabling legislation.
This hotel had built an area for a casino, but the Gaming Authority, which would need to approve its licence, has not yet been established.
The last time this newspaper spoke with Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee on the matter he had said that there had been no progress. The government had said that the matter would have been advanced after the conclusion of the Cricket World Cup in April 2007.