After several years of overcoming various legislative hurdles, the joint venture of the Australian billionaire James Packer and the popular Hollywood actor Robert De Niro was finally given the nod.
The government of Barbuda gave the green light to the establishment of a casino on the territory of the country. The Paradise Found project was approved by Gaston Browne, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, as well as the Ambassador Gilbert Boustany.
If everything goes according to the initial plan, the construction of the Paradise Found resort will start at the beginning of 2017. The property will spread over 550 acres of land. The investment Packer and De Niro have to make goes over $250 million. The construction plan includes a casino as well as villas and cottages, boat moorings, an airstrip, over-water villas, etc.
Antigua has been a popular tourist destination for quite some time, while Barbuda remained largely undeveloped. Tourists are not going to find large, luxurious resorts owned by a leading company in the tourism industry. The most common accommodation tourists can currently find in Barbuda is the cottage-style lodging.
The construction of Paradise Found resort is expected to change that reality, but the power duo hurried up to reassure locals that the resort will be built in a way residents of Barbuda find acceptable.
For the time being, it remains uncertain whether locals will embrace the project as most of them are sceptic about the advantages it will bring. It is also unclear how many job positions will be available once the Paradise Found is a fully-fledged resort.
As for the casino, the resort will feature, it is believed to play an important role in attracting visitors. Barbuda does not currently have a land-based casino. There are seven casinos on the territory of Antigua the largest of which is King’s Casino featuring 15 tables and 350 slots.
De Niro himself commented on the long-awaited resort approval and said he has been regularly visiting Antigua and Barbuda since he was in his twenties. He expressed his expectations that they will succeed in making the property a very special one.
However, that is not going to be an easy task given its bad condition. The K Club where the resort is to be built used to be an attractive vacation spot in the past, but it has been vacant for 12 years, which was the reason why it fell into disrepair.
