The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Government is “finalising matters” with an operator to run the Memories Grand Bahama Beach Resort’s casino,. a senior tourism official confirmed yesterday, noting that it was now in the “due diligence” stage.

“We are negotiating and finalising matters with one operator. We are in a position we want to be in, and we are finalising matters. There is just some due diligence being done at this stage,” said tourism director-general David Johnson.

As many as seven companies had vied to take over the casino operations from Treasure Bay, which has operated the casino since 2009.

Mr Johnson said he was not in a position to disclose who the operator was. “I’m not in the position to disclose who because the rights to do that is reserved for the Gaming Board and the minister responsible, but I am on the team and I can say that we have progressed to due diligence with a single operator,and we are well on our way to having an operator in place,” he added.

Tourism Minister Obie Wilchocombe, who has responsibility for gaming, had stated at the Grand Bahama Business Outlook back in February that the Government was viewing a Mexican group as the front-runner to become the new casino operator at the Memories resort, with that group the only one at the table at that time.

The Memories resort, formerly the Reef Village, officially opened last month. Some 34,000 airline seats from Canada, and 66,000 from the USA, are expected to drive incremental seat capacity of 101,000 to Grand Bahama.

Through April 30, Sunwing Airlines, will provide weekly non-stop jet service using their 189-seat aircraft from six gateways in Canada. Starting May 1 through October 31, via Vacation Express, the US-based arm of Sunwing Vacations, Bahamasair will operate non-stop service from eight US cities. These include Baltimore, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Columbus, Memphis, Newark, Raleigh/Durham and Richmond.