There are nuances that give an insight into the personality of a company through its top people.

Last Monday Peter Bacon, Sun International CEO, received me in his office to talk about the casino giant’s operations in South Africa and their projects overseas. What much impressed me about the office of the Sun International Chief was that the desk, bastion of most executives, has been replaced by a table where work is done in the manner of the legendary King Arthur - a round table.

At the Gaming & Casino World Africa 2004 Conference that opened on Tuesday, Peter Bacon presented the case for Sun International ' An African Success Story'. What is remarkable about the story is that since the new South African gambling dispensation in 1995 became effective, Bacon has not only steered the company from having a near monopoly in the country through the operational and investment changes needed to reshape their gambling and resorts offer, but has also taken on heavyweight competitors like Caesars and MGM-Mirage of America who built multi-million dollar properties to take on the market leader.

As the economic and demographic shape of South Africa was undergoing changes that affected some major properties, the company developed and opened Carnival City, their first Gauteng casino, in 1999. By the end of 2001 three new properties, including their leading performer GrandWest Casino & Entertainment World in Cape Town, were a shining success as revenue for the Group went from 2.336 million South African Rand in 1997 to 4.476 million SA Rand by year end in June 2004.

Right now Sun International has the Sibaya Casino, near Umhlanga north of Durban, on schedule for a November opening, and in Sun City - which truly is nothing less than a resort city now - the construction of the first phase of the new Vacation Club project will open in April 2005.

The success story, however, has just moved across Africa and into Zambia, where the Group has invested SA R400 million building two large hotels and other leisure facilities at Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world.

Peter Bacon said: " We are currently looking at a casino, hotel, spa and conference development in Luanda, which is at the due diligence stage, and we are investigating other interesting prospects in both West and East Africa. Mozambique has considerable potential for example, with a very respectable growth rate, although public infrastructure there will require considerable investment."

Of course, years of internecine wars has left Mozambique with a depleted economy and fragmented infrastructure, but the awareness is there that when Maputo was the beautiful Laurenço Marques, before Sun City came into being, its beaches were the equivalent of the Costa del Sol to South Africans.

While Bacon urges the African governments to adopt a policy offering " single integrated tourism... with an extraordinary range of experiences to an international market that is hungry for a taste of the new, the unexplored and the unspoilt," without the need for multiple visas throughout the region - much in the European style of the Schengen protocol - the Sun International corporate culture is set to move to Great Britain after deregulation. Here their unique brand of personalized service is sure to unveil a new chapter in their success story.

I had just spent the weekend in Sun City's sumptuous resort-within-a-resort The Lost City at their royal retreat The Palace - a luxury hotel that exudes charm and genuine hospitality. My unforgettable experience at the Palace mirrors that of April and Sam Spicer of the USA, who wrote to say: " We can't say thank you enough for the warm hospitality we received while staying at this most exquisite hotel... the exceptional service and recommendations from the wonderful concierge staff all exceeded our expectations."

Sun International, the giant of African casino resort companies, will be tough competition for anyone - wherever their plans take them.

© Copyright 2004 Ricki Chavez-Munoz/CasinoCompendium



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