International Group of Gaming & Resorts (IGGR) last month was awarded a casino licence for Chile's most promising destination. The Paihuen Casino & Resort project will change the face and future of the small district of Mostazal, some 35 miles from the country's capital city Santiago, along the Panamericana Highway. Up to now, the sleepy commune of San Francisco de Mostazal has been know for its relatively young wine industry, where the Mostazal blend started yielding barely 10 years ago.

Whether the regional wine tempted the French group to gamble on a project for Mostazal is a matter for conjecture. Against major competition for projects in the region's capital Rancagua, from Chile's leading casino operators Enjoy and from Iberoamerican giant Cirsa, the fact remains that IGGR CEO Francis Raineau fought a clever battle on all fronts, from insisting on a fully regional regeneration of the economic infrastructure to the lasting creation of over 5000 jobs.

The Paihuen Casino & Resort project, with a US$60 million budget, aims to set up a gaming operation with 1500 gaming devices, a select 70-room 5-star hotel, disco, restaurants, 3 convention centres, a commercial centre, a food court with dozens of eateries, a gym, an internal transport system, and an interactive and theme park. The entertainment side of the project will be complemented by communal services that include a local arts and craft gallery and sports facilities including swimming pools and other attractions.

As with anything in gaming licensing these days, there has been highly charged questioning on licensing a casino, from opting for favouring a project away from the region's capital city Rancagua right down to blaming the mayor for permitting provincial alliances. In this last instance, IGGR has been accused of offering a percentage of its profits to the region's communities, excluding Rancagua.

As it is, neither Cirsa nor Enjoy seem to have disputed IGGR's choice, and the French group will start to increase its presence in Latin America after successful operations in Curacao, Argentina and Ecuador. Starting in France in 1977, the company operates 3 casinos at home as well as 3 others in Egypt, including the Sinai Grand Casino, a Las Vegas style destination casino and the first of its kind in Egypt, situated in Sharm El Sheikh on the Red Sea Riviera. IGGR lists revenues for 2005 at US$165 millions. (E-01.11.07)

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