Last week saw the start of the process to grant the concession for the flagship Hotel Casino Carrasco in Montevideo, Uruguay to the private sector. Prospective investors now have four months to present their projects for evaluation. Following seven years of bad management by the company Carmitel under the control of the then director of Municipal Casinos, Juan Carlos Bengoa who is now being prosecuted, at the end of December a law was passed that allows the operation of the Carrasco casino to be passed into private hands.

The terms of the tender and the regulations for the operation of Casino Carrasco over the next 30 years are established by the Ministry of Economics and the Central Bank of Uruguay. Because of the failure of the last casino administration, the Municipality will create a special account for depositing gaming revenue from the concession that will be used to improve the shanty towns. It is hoped that the Carrasco concession will reverse the fortunes of the Municipal Casinos and that Hotel Carrasco will once again become a landmark in Montevideo.

The Hotel Casino Carrasco was opened in 1921 on a prime oceanfront site some 30 kilometres from the centre of Montevideo. It originally had a large casino in the European style of the time, plus banqueting halls and indoor and outdoor terraces. The hotel is just 8 kilometres from Montevideo’s airport and the casino concession is already attracting interest from foreign investors. The property, because of its ocean views and location in an excellent neighbourhood, lends itself to becoming a high class casino resort. (E-01.07.08)

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