The following letter to the Editor was featured in today’s Jamaica Observer newspaper:
Dear Editor,
On June 30, 2009 I wrote to you advising that the Government of Jamaica, insisting that an investment of US$1.5 billion including a minimum of 2,000 rooms was required to obtain a casino licence, was asking for too much and that Jamaica had lost several new hotel investments as a result of this policy.
Recently, I read in the newspaper that Guyana was getting its first casino and the investment required was only US$2 million to upgrade an existing hotel. I am sure that Guyana does not have the size and quality hotels that we have in Jamaica, and they seem to be making the right move.
Maybe the Government of Jamaica could learn from this move by Guyana and start small and expand as conditions dictate.
Barrington Green
