Senior executives from Marriott are flying to Bermuda soon to try to salvage a casino at its St. Regis resort. The inspiration for the urgent discussion comes from the recent implosion of a bid to put a casino at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club.
According to the local Royal Gazette newspaper, the Marriott executives will either meet with members of the government or the Bermuda Gaming Commission (BGC).
The sticking point, reported the Gazette, appears to be that U.S. banks are leery of investing money in a Bermuda casino because the country’s premier, E. David Burt, is seen as having too close of a relationship with the BGC.
Recently, U.S-based Century Casinos announced that it was abandoning a casino planned at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, citing “too much red tape,” according to the Gazette.
The company had been working on the project for eight years. One gaming insider told the Gazette, “This is not about politics, or personalities, it is about a power structure.” The insider added, “The U.S. banks are very reluctant to get involved in Bermuda when they see the head of government has a close relationship with the gaming commission. The U.S. correspondent banks are saying ‘absolutely not’ to Bermuda at the moment.”
BGC members are not independent—they serve at the pleasure of the government. “That’s a red light to U.S. banks,” said the source. “A major disincentive is that Bermuda gaming regulation just does not look independent.”
A spokesman for the government told the Gazette, “Irrespective of where ministerial responsibility under the gaming legislation may lie, the simple fact is that no solution to the banking issue has been forthcoming.” She added that the BGC is in fact independent.
The government has cited creating a casino industry as one of four keys to growth. “Any suggestion of influence over the commission is patently false.”
Burt had predicted that the first casino would open in Bermuda in 2021.
Craig Cannonier, a spokesman for One Bermuda Alliance, a tourism association, is calling on Burt to step in to try to save the situation.
He told the Gazette: “The government is saying it is up to the license holders to get things done, but how can they be if banks are unwilling to take proceeds from gaming?” He added, “It is up to the government to satisfy that mandate by the bank—you can’t blame the licensee.”
