Sun promises ‘new standard’ at Monticello Grand Casino in Chile

Details of the largest investment to date in a resort casino in Chile were revealed recently to the local populace in San Francisco de Mostazal in the rural hill country just south of the capital of Santiago.

The US$200 million, 600,000-square-foot Monticello Grand Casino and its accompanying Mundo de Entretención (“Entertainment World”) will be unlike anything the country’s gambling industry has seen when they open in October.

The casino will feature 1,500 slots, 80 table games, a private VIP salon and 300 bingo positions. A luxury hotel will offer 155 rooms and suites, the conference center will seat 1,800, and the property also will house an extensive retail shopping mall. A spa and special play areas for children round out the offering.

San Francisco de Mostazal, a small city of about 12,000 people, is located roughly 35 miles south of the capital in Cachapoal Province in Chile’s Sixth Region, an area known for mountains, farmland and wines.
 “This investment in the Chilean market will set a new standard in entertainment for Chilean citizens, turning the Sixth Region into a place for international tourism,” said David Coutts-Trotter, chief executive of Sun International, South Africa’s largest casino operator and a global resort giant.

Hyatt, Liberman Group join bidding for Montevideo casino

The Hyatt hotel chain and investment group Liberman have expressed interest in bidding to manage Montevideo’s Carrasco Hotel and Casino, joining a growing list of suitors for the historic and potentially lucrative building.

Liberman has pledged US$50 million to refurbish the hotel and transform it into a five-star property over the course of two years.

Hyatt already operates a casino in the Conrad Hotel in Punta del Este, but Horacio Esposito, a spokesman for Liberman, said Carrasco will target an international clientele.

“The effort of marketing programs in Uruguay will not be addressed to the local gaming market,” he said.

Several other entities, among them Portugal’s Pestana hotel and hostel chain, Tsakos Group of Greece and Spain’s Codere Group have also expressed interest in the Carrasco license.

Codere already manages Uruguay’s Maroñas race course.

Tsakos’ interest dates back to early 2006 when the group approached Carmitel, the company then operating the hotel, with an offer to buy the company. The approach went nowhere, and Carmitel struggled to make the hotel profitable and ultimately its contract with the city was canceled.

Puerta del Sur, the company that manages Carrasco Airport, is also said to be interested in the hotel.

The tender process comprises the commercial operation of the building as a luxury level hotel and may also include complementary services such as restaurants, meeting and convention facilities and possibly sports venues. The key to the project is the license of the Casino Municipal, which is located within the hotel.

The municipal council of Montevideo began evaluating offers in May in collaboration with the National Corporation for Development. A points system is being employed to determine the winner, with five points awarded for projected employment and salaries, five for plans to attract international tourists and wealthier patrons and 10 points for expertise in hotel and casino management.

Judge in Ecuador blocks closure of casinos in Guayas

 A judge has ordered the casinos in Ecuador’s Guayas Province closed in recent weeks by the chief of police to be reopened pending an appeal by the local casino association and operator Invermun S.A.

The judge said the closures were “inappropriate based on the fact that there was a constitutional appeal for protection in favor of Invermun, which says that the rights related to work may not be affected.”

Provincial authorities, however, claim the appeal is invalid because the law supporting it is unconstitutional.

“They do not have a license, so they are operating in an illegal way,” the police said, arguing that the Interior Ministry is bound by law “to order the closure of facilities or venues in which illegal games of chance or slots operate.”

The controversy stems from an ongoing disagreement over precisely what Ecuadoran law allows. Casino opponents say regulations issued in 2002 restrict casinos to five-star hotels, making those operating outside them illegal, and the government has ordered 300 gambling venues nationwide to be closed. Guayas police closed 42 casinos in the center of the city of Guayaquil prior to the casino association’s appeal.

Industry leaders contend the 2002 regulations were superseded in 2004 by new rules which do not include the hotel requirement.

The Ministry of Tourism maintains that casinos operating outside of hotels are illegal but said it will not oppose a decision by Guayaquil council to order gambling venues to relocate away from the center of town to areas designated by the council. That decision was reached after meetings with local operators. Invermun, for one, has indicated its willingness to relocate.

But other projects are hanging in the balance, like the US$10 million Gran Casino Guayaquil, which is under construction and slated to open in October. The mayor has indicated his preference for a public consultation on the project’s legitimacy. But President Rafael Correa insists it is illegal and will not be allowed to open.

PGI wins contract to supply Chile with CasinoLink

Progressive Gaming International’s CasinoLink Enterprise Edition has been selected as the exclusive slot management system at new properties in Chile’s expanding casino market.

The US$2.3 million agreement calls initially for installations to manage up to 1,500 slot machines, more than half of those at the new Casino Marina del Sol near Concepcion, the country’s second-largest city.

Installation is scheduled to begin in the third quarter.

“Deploying CasinoLink on the entire slot floor of these facilities will provide us an integrated casino management solution to manage all aspects of our gaming floor,” said Michael Wagman, managing director of Clairvest Group, a partner in the Marina del Sol development. “After carefully considering several different slot management systems, Clairvest and our partners chose CasinoLink because it provides the most robust suite of tools to maximize our operating efficiencies and deliver an unparalleled gaming experience for our customers.”

Casino Marina del Sol is scheduled to open in September with 800 slots, 50 table games, a 120-room hotel, a theater and several restaurants.

New slots casino opens to fanfare in Argentina

A new machine gambling venue has opened in Argentina’s Uspallata Valley.

Casino Mendoza features 60 contemporary machine games and two electronic multiplayer roulette tables with 24 seats. The venue also houses a café and an area for live entertainment.

The facility “will not only be an important tourist point for the zone, but also contribute to combat clandestine gaming,” said the Provincial Institute of Games and Casinos.

It also is providing more than 60 jobs and is expected to contribute significantly to a variety of government, community and athletic programs.

Its importance was attested by the array of dignitaries that turned out for the opening, among them Las Heras Mayor Ruben Miranda, Daniel Pereyra, president of the Provincial Institute of Games and Draws, and two representatives of BETEC S.A., the company managing the casino, Juan Manuel Nasiff and Esteban Navarro.

IN OTHER NEWS …

—Atronic International has opened a Latin American office and showroom in Lima. A June 4 reception to inaugurate the new facilities was attended by a number of major operators, including Sam Holding Group, Newport, Corporación Turistica Peruana, Sagsa, Cirsa, Corporación Meier and Masaris.

—Four betting centers belonging to Codere Brazil’s Turff Bet & Sports Bar are operating again in Rio de Janeiro and the cities of Niteroi and Puerto Alegre. Regulations banning betting on internationally simulcast races were amended by Minister of Agriculture Reinhold Stephanes, whose department controls horse racing activities in the country.

—Enjoy Group has chosen IndigoVision’s IP Video system to provide a complete digital CCTV surveillance solution for all nine of its casinos in Chile. A 500-camera system has been installed at Enjoy’s casino in Coquimbo, which will shortly be extended to cover a new hotel and convention center. Once complete, the installation will include more than 2,500 cameras. The systems are being installed by IndigoVision’s local partner, Bitelco Diebold LTDA, with storage provided by Intransa. Fifteen casinos worldwide have now invested in IndigoVision’s CCTV solutions.

—Casino Club, the company in charge of Argentina’s new Casino Rosario, is being fined for delays in opening the facility. The company blamed storms in 2007 and government delays in resettling homes in the area for the decision to postpone the opening until September 2009.

—Peruvian officials confiscated a cache of illegal gambling machines operating in the capital of Lima in wine cellars and shops in proximity to schools. Eighteen devices were removed, according to reports.

—Authorities of the Argentine Chamber of the Games of Chance (CAIJA) are organizing an industry expo to be held in Buenos Aires either in late September or early October. The popular South American Gaming Suppliers Expo is scheduled to be held in the city in mid-October. CAIJA President Daniel Gallimberti characterized the move as “a strategic decision of the companies gathered in the chamber, which consider that circumstances are given in order to have our own exhibition of products in Buenos Aires.”

—The trade group Latin American Games of Chance Association (ALAJA) has published its first “Responsible Gaming Manual” as part of the organization’s Program of Business Responsibility.

—This fall’s sixth annual Peru Gaming Show has confirmed that more than 120 exhibitors and more than 1,000 attendees will participate in the August 7-8 event in Lima.

—A magazine for Latin American poker aficionados has been launched in Brazil with an editorial office in Las Vegas. “FLOP — Poker Magazine of Brazil and South America” timed its launch to coincide with the start of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas last month. … Poker has exploded in popularity in Brazil, which is ranked eighth in the world in online poker revenues. The Poker Federation of Brazil counts more than 200,000 registered members.