At last a casino
pp. 26-27 · Read in the full issue
By Macel Manua
THE casino debate continues. The Church leaders say no and the in vestors say yes. For years Fiji, Ton ga, the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu have talked about building casinos to attract wealthy tourists and bring in money from abroad. Nothing happened until July 24 when a Vanuatu registered company, Pacific Management Limited, opened a casino at the Radisson Royal Palms Resort, Port Vila and laun ched a new industry.
The establishment of the Palms Casino wasn’t easy. The Church headed a
powerful lobby group against it. But
Prime Minister Father Walter Lini, an Anglican priest, saw the casino as the springboard for better economic growth.
“We have grown up in the last 10 years and will continue to grow,” he said when opening Palms Casino as part of Vanuatu’s 10th independence anniversary celebrations. “We are living
among different countries, different people in the world and we cannot iso late ourselves in the way some people would want to think.” He said a casino bill will be tabled in Parliament in the next few months to provide legislations that will control the operations of casinos.
Pacific Management Limited managing director John Stevens said it took more than a year to get the casino going. Why Vanuatu? Said Stevens: “There was a law in place already that allows casinos to operate, it is close to Australia and there fore marketable.” Manager Tony Boyd said the casino will be sold heavily in Australia and New Zealand: “We will be looking at both the premium player mar ket (high-rollers) holiday tourists and ship passengers. The Casino will have a private gaming room (available towards the end of this month) for those players who like to play higher limits away from the attention of the general public.” The
games currently being run are Blackjack,
Roulette, Mini-Bacaret, Money Wheel and Big & Small. There are 12 tables.
The limits begin from VTSO (Asstf) and reach VT250,000 (A 52700) in some games. There are 50 slot machines which range from VTIO to VTIOO and jack pots start from VTI million (A$ 11,000).
Gambling at Palms Casino is restricted to those above the age of 18 years and the rules are “pretty the same as those which operate throughout Australian casinos,” said Boyd. “In a couple of inst ances we are more favourable to the players than some of the casinos in Au stralia. We are more liberal with our odds.” A Palms Casino Games Club allows private membership for locals.
Otherwise admittance into the gaming rooms are only for foreign passport hol ders and guests at Radisson Royal Palms, formerly the Intercontinental.
Palms Casino employs 80 people.
There are six workers from Australia.
Staff training is being run at the Uni versity of the South Pacific complex in Port Vila. Said Stevens: “We will phase out the expatriates over the next few years and ni-Vanuatu will take up the middle management positions.”