The Board of the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, is reconsidering the possibility of moving ahead with the introduction of a casino, as was intended in the original plan, or if the space can be utilised for another purpose.
On the sidelines of an event on Wednesday, Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon indicated that consideration is being made for other potential projects at the hotel, which can be undertaken. While a final decision is yet to be made, he is awaiting a statement.
SleepIn Hotel and the adjacent casino
“When the hotel was first conceived and built, it was built with that possibility in mind. The entertainment complex, which the casino was a part of, was that possibility. My understanding is that the hotel itself and Marriott International are having a fresh look to see if that is the best use that can be put to that space,” Harmon told the media.
Atlantic Hotels Inc, the Government-owned company which was set up to construct and undertake the management of the Marriott Hotel, has been facing many setbacks regarding the entertainment complex and casino.
In 2017, an advertisement by the company stated that it was “interested to receive EoIs (Expressions of Interest) from either persons or companies, either individually or as part of a joint venture/consortium”. AHI said preference would be given to submissions by applicants who are established in the gaming and entertainment industry.
The Marriott Hotel
However, three months ago, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo had expressed his dissatisfaction with the actions of Government for poorly handling the tendering process for this initiative.
He emphasised that the scrapping of the tenders for the establishment of the Marriott Hotel’s casino occurred because of the unethical and questionable actions of some Government Ministers with regard to them secretly meeting with a bidder of the project. This, he said, was part of a plan to ensure that the Princess Hotel Casino did not have competition in that business.
At present, only Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel has a license to operate a casino.
SleepIn
Meanwhile, as it related to the casino application for SleepIn Hotel on Church Street, Chairman of the Gaming Authority, Roysdale Forde indicated that it is being considered. It is the second application to be submitted, after the initial one was denied.
“That application is being considered. We had a number of concerns. It was initially refused and rejected by the Gaming Authority. A second application was made. We met with them on a number of occasions. We wrote them, informing what is the sort of information that we need in order to make a final decision on it,” Ford mentioned.
The Chairman related that other businesses were also facilitated and advised of the documents required by the gaming agency but these are yet to be submitted. As such, officials will convene to make a decision.
In 2016, hotelier Clifton Bacchus, owner of SleepIn Hotel, was denied permission from the Gaming Authority to commence operation after having invested millions into developing a state-of-the-art casino, which remains closed.
Initial reports were that the application for a license was denied because he failed to provide proof of its financial soundness and capability, which was critical for approval.
Bacchus had also said that he was in possession of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between himself and the Government of Guyana, signed in 2014. According to the businessman, the document guarantees him a licence to operate a casino once he is able to complete construction in line with several specifications.
