16th December 2010
CASINO OPENS
M.G. George

(Photo) Slot Machines at Treasure Bay.

Let the games begin!
And the games began last Monday, ending decades of discussion on the merits and demerits of such games in Saint Lucia. Gambling, casino style is here, and poised to become a fixture on the local tourism landscape, and maybe, a marketing tool for the island in its choice tourism markets of North America and Great Britain.
Treasure Bay Casino, as it is called, opened Monday for business at the Baywalk Mall without the raising of an eyebrow by church leaders, perhaps an indication that they have resigned themselves to the inevitable.
Located in the heart of Rodney Bay, Treasure Bay is the first casino in Saint Lucia, 23 years after it was first mooted in Saint Lucia, an introduction which sparked a war of words between church leaders and the government over issues dealing with morality and the economic survival of the country.
Church leaders, over the years have been extremely vocal against the introduction of gaming facilities in Saint Lucia, but not gambling in its entirety because they were not advocating against the banning of games of chance that have perforated the Saint Lucian landscape over the years.
During the 2009 festive season a group calling itself The Fellowship of Gospel Preaching Churches, a combination of leaders from Pentecostal Churches across the island, responded when Prime Minister Stephenson King spoke of the casino at the mall. The group went as far as preparing an argument that took into consideration the several factors associated with a casino.