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Casinos have always been big moneymakers for Caribbean tourist destinations, which is why it’s not shocking to see so many new casinos or refurbished casinos popping up left and right.
Recently, Travel Agent has learned that St. Lucia will get its first casino by 2009, with two more to come in the next two to three years. Ending ongoing efforts that spanned for nearly 10 years, St. Lucia’s Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Senator Allen Chastanet said the first casino will be a Divi Resorts casino operated by Treasure Bay.
We also learned that The Royal St. Kitts Hotel & Casino will celebrate its grand opening by early 2008. This 292-room, all-inclusive property is in the Frigate Bay area. Each room features air-conditioning, in-room wireless Internet service and its own private balcony with views of the adjacent Royal St. Kitts Golf Course, landscaped gardens, pool or lake. There are also two restaurants, two snack bars, two swimming pools, five bars, four tennis courts, fitness center, basketball half court, gift shop, beach cabana, nightclub and casino.
We also brought you news of the recent completion of a three-phase expansion by Sheraton Old San Juan, the only casino in the historic district of San Juan. The upgraded casino will offer an additional 2,000 square feet of space with 100 new machines, upgrades to more than 100 existing machines, and an additional random payout jackpot.
And now comes the latest news of the reopening of the Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa, a Wyndham Grand Resort (read on to learn more). Casinos will always be a major cash vacuum for Caribbean destinations, so expect this trend to continue.