The fate of Argentina’s landmark Necochea Casino is on the line. According to government secretary Jorge Martínez, “The pictures speak for themselves—we find ourselves with a completely abandoned and decaying complex.”
A recent inspection was conducted at the coastal casino to determine whether it’s structurally sound. “There have been many years of lack of interest and lack of investment,” said Martinez. “It is very sad.”
He added that the government “today lacks the resources necessary to make some type of investment. It is impossible that, given the financial situation that the municipality is going through, that we can face the expenses generated by this whole place, so we will need the support of the private sector to put value into it.”
The president of the Deliberative Council, Hernán Trigo Gutiérrez, agreed that photos of the decrepit building “are alarming, we all knew about the state of abandonment that the building presented, but in recent times it has had a huge deterioration due to the lack of maintenance and investment and the fall of the concessions. It is impossible to think of a repair by the municipality today, we are talking about a huge amount of work for a completely unfeasible municipality, but we are obliged to make a decision and solve this because it represents a serious risk to people.”
In 2017, Argentina’s Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos decided to close the casino, which was hemorrhaging money, generating just $3.5 million, but costing $39.5 million a year to maintain. The casino had closed several time before: in 2015; after two tourists fell a balcony, and in 1988 and 1994.
Necochea is in southwestern Buenos Aires Province on the Atlantic coast. The casino was constructed in 1973; the complex also includes cafés, a shopping arcade, a bowling alley, a bar, a billiard room and a skating rink.
