The Gambling Referendum Debate: ...Ed Fields - Kerzner International senior vice president says that he agrees with Baha Mar vice president - Robert Sands on casino gambling for Bahamians should not be rushed... ...the focus should be on liberalising the “numbers business” first

'Numbers First, Before Casinos'


By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Staff Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIANS should focus on liberalising the “numbers business” first before attempting to addressing the issue of casino gambling, according to Ed Fields, Kerzner International senior vice president.

While he noted it was also an “overdue” issue, Mr Fields said he sided with Baha Mar vice president Robert Sands that casino gambling should not be rushed.

“We need to go down that road, whether we’re going down it two months from now or three months, we should be doing it.

“It should be a basic question on do you agree with liberalizing gambling for Bahamians,” he said. “Now once that question is answered then the powers that be can start examining what we should be doing (next). Let’s legalize it, let’s tax the heck out of it, let’s take some of those tax dollars and put it to helping people who might have an addiction, let’s take the money and put it into education and arts and culture.”

The contentious debate over whether or not the country should liberalize “web shop” gaming and establish a national lottery has stormed since it was announced that the longstanding issue would be put to a referendum before the end of the year.

There has also been criticism of the scope of the proposed referendum, with former prime minister Hubert Ingraham stating that the referendum should address gaming in its entirety.

The Bahamas Christian Council has accused the government of rushing a gambling referendum, while some local pastors have called for all gambling participation – including the participation of tourists in casinos – to be outlawed.

While he said he could not comment on the referendum’s timeline, Mr Fields said a resolution on the issue was “long overdue”.

“We took literally 50 years to get to where we are today with the institution of Bahamians not being allowed to gamble in casinos. We can’t just overnight change that paradigm without there being some ramifications. So I ‘m supportive of it but I think it’s something that we have to take one step at a time.”

“Liberalizing the numbers business,” he said, “is something we are doing now and so let’s get that off the plate and then we can have a discussion about casino gambling in terms of how you qualify to gamble.”

In response to claims that liberalisation would engender a rise in addiction and other social ills, Mr Fields said that taxes would provide funding for counselling and related help.

“Not everyone who gambles is addicted to gambling, it’s a small percentage like every other activity, sex, shopping, eating, not everyone is a kleptomaniac,” he said.

“Right now as I speak there is zero dollars that is being committed to counselling people who are addicted to gambling, so let’s just assume that there are a number of people who are addicted to gambling, well if we were taxing the numbers business or the gambling business then we could allocate a percentage of that to counselling and helping.

He added: “It cant be worse than what we have now.”

July 30, 2012

Tribune242

Caribbean Blog International

Kerzner's Atlantis might have problems... but the sky is not falling

DON'T LISTEN TO THE MESSENGERS OF DOOM

tribune242 editorial



THE SOUND bites being fired off by opposition politicians over the collapse of the Kerzner agreement with its Brookfield creditor gives the impression that they are intent -- in order to deal a mortal political blow to Prime Minister Ingraham-- on striking fear in Kerzner's staff just at a time when the resort is experiencing a favourable turn-around in business.

Although the Kerzner attempt at an ownership transfer failed last week, the current dispute is between creditors, aggrieved that a junior in their midst appears to have outsmarted the remaining six, all senior in the creditor lineup. They feared that Brookfield, in its proposed $175 million debt-for-equity swap, would be the sole beneficiary to any future success of the resort, leaving them empty handed. They appealed to a court in Delaware, which stopped the ownership transfer pending a court hearing. Brookfield, instead of wasting precious time in court, cancelled the Kerzner agreement, in the meantime continuing to try to broker a deal with its fellow lenders.

The Atlantis resort and the One & Only Ocean Club remain in Kerzner hands and under Kerzner management. Kerzner International president, George Markantonis, has repeatedly assured his staff and the public that the Kerzner-Brookfield transaction would in no way affect their jobs. Prime Minister Ingraham has also been given assurances that as far as the present transaction is concerned, Bahamians -- almost 8,000 of them -- have no reason to fear.

What they do not realise is that the debt crisis in Greece -- now tottering on the brink of default -- could create such an economic tsunami that international commerce, including tourism, could grind to a sudden halt. And as everything has a logical conclusion, the results would be -- no tourists, no jobs, no hotels. In these circumstances, employment at Atlantis would suffer a faster after-shock, forcing downsizing more than the present squabbles among Kerzner lenders.

And so, as the Kerzner president has said, not only would the lenders' foreclosing or putting the company into bankruptcy be "very far fetched", but so would the loss of local jobs. At present, said Mr Markantonis, "it's really looking like a nice January... and a strong winter." He hinted that additional staff might even be taken on.

In fact, Atlantis is too big to fail. It would cost more to go into bankruptcy than to keep the hotel open and continue to fight for business with a dedicated -- not a politically spooked staff -- as important members of the team.

Based on a $3 billion valuation of the property stamp tax alone would be $360 million. (See Tribune Business Editor Neil Hartnell's article in today's Business section).

Opposition Leader Perry Christie has berated Prime Minister Ingraham for not telling the Bahamian people on Friday that the Brookfield deal had failed. How could anyone speak on this matter with any authority when no one -- not even the Kerzner team - knew what was going on at that time. Mr Ingraham could have opened his mouth and babbled a lot of nonsensical platitudes that might have sounded good, but would have meant nothing because he -- like everyone else -- knew nothing. A wise man does not open his mouth unless he is sure of what he is going to say. This was a fight among lenders as they saw a lucrative deal about to slip through their fingers.

Mr Christie accused Mr Ingraham of not fighting for Bahamian jobs. How could Mr Ingraham enter the debate until he received an application from Brookfield for the government's approval of the transaction? It was at that point that he could have had his say and presented Bahamian demands, but before Mr Ingraham could properly read the application, Brookfield withdrew it. What did Mr Christie want Mr Ingraham to do -- fly to wherever the creditors were meeting, kick the door in and demand an audience? The idea, although ridiculous, is good political fodder for the ignorant. Mr Christie knows he is just making political noise. If he sincerely wanted to save Bahamian jobs he would stop ringing alarm bells.

And if Atlantis employees really want to save their jobs they will close their ears to "the sky is falling" myths and avoid the disaster into which Chicken Little led his friends by his false alarm.

According to the nursery rhyme, a very foolish Chicken Little was in the woods one day when an acorn fell on his tail. The silly little chick decided that the sky was falling, and so he ran to alert all his farmyard friends. When he told Henny Penny, she wanted to know how he knew that the sky was falling in. "I saw it with my eyes," said Chicken Little. "I heard it with my ears. Some of it fell on my tail." "We will run," said Henny Penny, "and tell the king." They lined up three more friends, frightening them into action with the same end-of-the-world story. Eventually, they came to the den of Foxy Loxy, who listened to the sky is falling in tale, and told them: "We will run," he said. "We will run into my den, and I will tell the king."

They ran into Foxy Loxy's den, But they did not come out again!

And that is just what will happen to Atlantis staff if they pay serious attention to all of these Chicken Littles, Henny Pennys, Turkey Lurkeys, Ducky Luckys and Goosey Looseys running around in today's political arena ringing false alarm bells.

Atlantis might have problems, but so far the sky has not fallen in.

January 20, 2012

tribune242 editorial

Caribbean Blog International

Sir Sol Kerzner - Kerzner International Chairman and CEO - has concerns about the terms of the Baha Mar deal

Kerzner concerned about terms of Baha Mar deal
By CANDIA DAMES
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com


Kerzner International Chairman and CEO Sir Sol Kerzner has concerns about some of the terms of the $2.6 billion Baha Mar deal, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said yesterday.

Ingraham told reporters at a meet the press event that he met with Kerzner yesterday morning to discuss those concerns.

“There are some concerns on the part of Kerzner as to the extent to which Baha Mar is getting a deal from The Bahamas that is more favorable to them than Kerzner got,” Ingraham said.

“In 2003 when the government of the day signed an agreement for Kerzner to do its phase three, it agreed that nobody would get a better deal in The Bahamas for any development than Kerzner got.”

He added, “They are concerned about the extent to which they themselves had to pay huge sums of money for property to do their development and Baha Mar was given property at [concessionary] prices. Secondly, they were required to hire 70 percent (Bahamian) workers on their job, and only 30 percent foreigners and we are considering giving Baha Mar these 5,000 to 8,000 Chinese workers.”

Ingraham said Kerzner International officials will get back to the government on the extent to which they have justifiable reasons for their concerns.

“And we will review their concerns and make determinations, but in the meantime it will not interfere with our intention to approve the Baha Mar project by the end of this month,” he said.

Asked whether Kerzner International plans to pursue a phase four of its development, Ingraham said, “The reality is even if they had the money and even if they had the will, the desire, nobody would do a phase four at Atlantis if you’re going to put down on Cable Beach another 2,600 hotel rooms and all the facilities.

“The reality is that there is only one market. Nassau is only just one place and airlift and business and profitability and room rates and the whole host of things (come into play). So it isn’t likely that they are going to do another phase at the moment. That’s not likely.”

Ingraham said Kerzner told him yesterday that there is no truth to rumors that he is considering selling the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.

“He said absolutely not,” Ingraham said. “I believe him.”

11/15/2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International