chairman of Cool Corporation, Joe Issa, has hailed this development and has suggested that, if handled properly, casinos could be a catalyst for a meaningful portion of oureconomic growth.
“It could be just what the doctor ordered for the nation’s economy and could assist us achieving spell a period of growth never seen before in this country considering all the other iniatives and sacrifices we have made us a nation,” Issa stated in an interview.
On May 2, 2015, the Jamaica Gleaner, in an article entitled “Ja now casino ready….regulations passed to send signal,” by Daraine Luton,reported that Jamaica was casino ready, with the passage of two pieces of regulation in the Senate.
The article quoted Justice Minister Senator Mark Golding, as saying that the regulations would signal to the approved developers that the Casino Gaming Commission is ready to receive applications for casino gaming licenses.
Then on June 17, 2015 the Gleaner reported that Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips had announced that Harmony Cove Limited and Celebration Jamaica Development Limited have got approval to develop Jamaica’s first two casino resorts.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20150617/green-light-casino-resort-projects
According to the report, with the approval, the companies are now positioned to begin the roll-out of integrated resort developments, and are required to develop the first 1,000 rooms under the first phase of an eventual 2,000-room complex, or bigger, before applying to the Casino Gaming Commission for a casino license.
In a March 13, 2014 story, “Construction of Jamaica’s first licensed casino to begin shortly,” http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/construction-of-jamaica-s-first-licensed-casino-to-begin-shortly
the Jamaica Observer stated that construction was scheduled to begin in a few months.
The article quoted founder of Celebration Jamaica Development Limited, Robert Trotta, as saying the project will be completed in three years once approval is granted.
With the approval not being given until June 2015, it is expected therefore that the project will be completed in 2018.
The article said the 2,000 room casino hotel would be constructed in Rose Hall, St James.
Issa, who spent several years in the tourism industry before founding the Cool Corporation Group of Companies and launching the Cool brand, says casino gaming will complement Jamaica’s tourism product.
Issa says he believes the advent of casino will boost tourism arrival figures and earnings for the country.
Issa’s views, as it relates to earnings for Jamaica, is supported by a 1997 study by American Gaming Association, which revealed that there is positive economic and societal benefits to areas where casino gaming is introduced:
The study, “Economic Impacts of Gaming in the United States, Volume 2: Micro Study,” examined three new gaming jurisdictions in the US and revealed also that there was a surge in retail sales and tax revenues and a decline in government funded public assistant programmes.
A more recent document, a 2014 article entitled “Economic benefits of casinos likely to outweigh costs,” authored by Doug Walker, Professor of Economics at College of Charleston, http://theconversation.com/economic-benefits-of-casions-likely-to-outweigh-costs-33443, also highlighted benefits of casinos, based on the results of a survey.
“Controlling for a variety of factors, the results showed that counties with casinos have higher employment (by around 8%) than those without; wages were slightly higher in casino counties. Perhaps the most important political benefit of casino is tax revenues……casino taxes do make it easier for politicians to avoid spending cuts or other tax increases,” the report stated.
Issa argues that with the resort town of Ocho Rios experiencing a downturn in cruise ship arrivals since the advent of the Falmouth pier, the larger hotels which may meet the requirements, could introduce casino gaming to their properties.
