Caravanserai Resort still
awaiting casino licence
~ Manek says resort being treated unfairly ~
BEACON HILL--Despite reportedly complying with the Island Council motion of last October, Caravanserai Beach Resort, operated by Kildare Properties, is still awaiting its promised licence for its Dunes Casino. The resort has been fighting an uphill battle for a permit for close to three years now.
The Island Council motion required the Executive Council to grant the licence providing the resort had proper financing in place for its 150-room expansion and could show construction had started and was progressing.
Resort Chief Executive Officer Haresh Manek told The Daily Herald, “I don’t know why we are being treated so unfairly. We have complied with the criteria set out by the Island Council, which includes members of the Executive Council who have to grant the licence. What is going on? We are just puzzled.”
As the matter is still caught up in court, government officials have been reluctant to speak about the status of the casino licence and when or if it will be granted.
The resort saw some light at the end of the tunnel in July, when a judge ruled that the Executive Council, based on the Island Council decision, had two months to decide on the granting of the licence. This two-month period expired in September leaving Manek “no choice” but to pursue the matter in court again.
Another court case will be filed by the resort to push the Executive Council to make a decision on the casino licence as soon as possible. The resort says it has lost close to US $2 million in revenues due to the absence of a casino licence.
According to Manek and Resort General Manager Ron Verhaar, Government is also losing money for the potential wage tax and other taxes that would be paid if the casino were operational. The Dunes casino, when a licence is granted, will employ approximately 60 people.
The resort complied with the criteria for a casino licence as set out in the motion since February when it signed a financing agreement with a Financial Institution for its US $25.5 million expansion project and with Liccom for the construction of the 150 additional rooms that would increase its inventory to 216. The expansion plan takes the resort over the 200 room mark that the Casino Policy “Rules of the Game” outlines as a requirement for a casino licence.
Recently, news broke that the resort was suing four of the five commissioners, comprising the Executive Council, for US $12.7 million plus interest each for damages related to non-issuance of the casino licence. “We are just trying to safeguard our employees, clients and the resort,” Manek told this newspaper.
The resort officials contended that a casino licence was vital to the resort, because much needed revenue was generated from the rent that would ensure further job security for the resort’s some 100 employees. Due to the ongoing construction, the resort’s occupancy level is currently “below average.”
“We have complied with the criteria, now it is only a matter of getting the licence, nothing more. The good news in the ongoing casino licence saga is that the construction is on schedule with completion slated for December 2008. Why we are being treated unfairly, we really can’t say.”
