Ready to gamble in Bermuda. The first Bermuda Casino is supposed to open at the St. Regis hotel – really?
The luxury St. Regis Hotel in Bermuda, part of Marriott, is the first resort in this country to operate a Casino in Bermuda.
According to Marriott Bonvoy, the St. Regis Bermuda Resort is a haven of oceanfront elegance situated in the historic town of St. George’s, just steps from the soft white sands of St. Catherine’s Beach.
The owners of the St Regis hotel and a representative of their proposed casino operator had meetings last week that was described as “frank and extremely useful,” according to a Bermuda government member.
The Bermuda minister of tourism, the Hon. David Burt and the Hon. Minister of Tourism for Bermuda Vance Campbell participated in this meeting.
They met the Bermuda Gaming Commission on Friday,
Minister Campbell noted the St Regis Hotel is a valuable addition to Bermuda’s tourism product and the Government enjoys a constructive working relationship with the owners.
The minister explained, they met earlier with the Bermuda Gaming Commission.
Mr. Burt told local media: “I continue to be impressed by the commitment of St Regis to introducing a casino at the hotel and our discussion examined legislative and practical ways to achieve that shared goal.
A government spokesman said the meetings were “frank and extremely useful.”
The Premier noted: “It is ridiculous to suggest that the Government has not invested time and effort into achieving gaming for Bermuda.
“We have met with banks, worked with hoteliers, responding positively to the economic realities of the pandemic, compounded by the delays in gaming licensing, and conferred with the commission’s executive team on striking the necessary balance between encouraging gaming and doing so with an appropriate regulatory regime.
“With the renewed commitment to a casino we heard from St Regis and their casino operator, those efforts will continue as we collaborate with all parties to deliver on this economic imperative for Bermuda.”
St Regis, in St George’s, was granted the island’s first casino license in October, but no date has been announced for an opening.
It emerged this month that Century Casinos pulled out of plans to develop a casino at the Hamilton Princess and Beach Club after being involved in the efforts for eight years.
Peter Hoetzinger, Century’s president and chief executive, said that with the existing legislative framework, the company could not foresee the project being completed in a reasonable time, if at all.
The hotel added that it halted a search for a new operator pending “a clearer road map from the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission on a viable path forward to seeing a casino open its doors.”
