Commission places its bet on St Pierre Park

ST PIERRE PARK HOTEL has been given the green light to start work on the island's first casino. Eleven months after the States voted 25-19 in favour of issuing a licence, the Gambling Control Commission confirmed yesterday that as long as the hotel complied with all licence regulations, it would be granted one.

'Following its deliberations, the commission is pleased to announce that it has informed St Pierre Park Casino Ltd that it is minded to grant a casino operator's licence to the company, subject to its compliance with the regulations,' said chairman Peter Morgan.

Nobody from the hotel's owner, Bucktrout, was available for comment yesterday, but when the House voted last September, chief executive Philip Cropley said the hotel would close from October this year for nine months.

'We have researched this very thoroughly and we think a resort hotel of this quality will put Guernsey back on the map,' he said.

Last September, the then-Tourist Board said the debate was the culmination of seven years' work and an outlay of £400,000, which would be recovered from the initial licence fee. But it was not all plain sailing: Deputy Bernard Flouquet was one of a few concerned that the States had failed to see the wider picture.

'They didn't recognise that gaming machines are going to proliferate in places like public houses,' he said, warning that it would be difficult to resist legal challenges from pubs wanting such machines.

The proposals were already behind schedule - almost exactly six years ago the then board-president and former deputy Geoff Norman was hopeful that the island would have a casino in a newly-built hotel in less than three years.

But plans for a new hotel were seen as unlikely to attract newcomers to the declining tourism sector and it took until November 2001 for enabling gambling legislation to be accepted by the House.

In May 2002 St Pierre Park confirmed that it would bid for a licence, as did La Grande Mare, which later dropped out of the tender process.

Another hotel to express interest was the Old Government House, but a formal application was never submitted.

In August 1998, Deputy Norman said a casino would be part of the board's strategy to extend the tourist season and improve the contribution visitors made to the island's economy. He also claimed it would enhance the profitability of the accommodation sector and encourage investment.

'The chance to have a new hotel and casino built represents a significant opportunity for Guernsey to take a positive step in the development of its visitor economy,' he said.