Sleepin Casino Guyana
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Sleepin Hotel’s Carnival Casino finally gets licence
Six years later…
The owner of the Sleepin International Hotel and Casino, Clifton Bacchus sitting at one of the tables inside Carnival Casino.9
Kaieteur News – “Finally” was the caption of a Facebook post made yesterday by the owner of Sleepin International Hotel, Clifton Bacchus after he was granted his Carnival’s Casino licence on Monday.
This achievement by the hotel did come easily. It took six years, one rejection, delays and at least two re-applications, just to become the second property in Guyana to own a casino licence. The first to own a licence was Ramada International Hotel and Casino located at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
As a result of the setbacks, Bacchus had told Kaieteur News in an earlier interview that he was forced to send back the slot machines and other equipment to its owners. He even fell into a trap with bank loans.
However, when the new People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC), administration took office in August, Sleepin saw its chance to re-apply for a third time to get its casino licence. A new Gaming Authority (GA) was formed and mere months later Sleepin Hotel and Casino Inc. can celebrate a victory in obtaining its long awaited Casino’s Operating Licence.
Speaking with Kaieteur News, yesterday, the hotelier said that a grand opening will be held sometime in the near future. Nevertheless, Bacchus pointed out that the casino is currently operating on a trial mode.
Sleepin Hotel and Casino in Guyana: View Tripadvisor's 31 unbiased reviews, 44 photos, and special offers for Sleepin Hotel and Casino, #13 out of 27 Guyana hotels. If you’re looking for a family-friendly hotel in Georgetown, look no further than Sleepin Hotel and Casino. While staying at Sleepin Hotel and Casino, visitors can check out Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (0.6 mi) and St. Andrew's Kirk (0.9 mi), some of Georgetown's top attractions.
Sleepin International and Casino
“We are currently doing a dry run of the place to look for bottlenecks and staff performances, et cetera,” Bacchus said.
Kaieteur had reported some years ago that during the former PPPC administration, which lost to the coalition in 2015, Sleepin Hotel and the Marriot hotel located in Kingston, were earmarked for casino licences.
However, the Granger administration when it took office had announced that it will be handling all casino applications as new ones and would review applications case-by-case.
On August 2, 2016, the hotel made an application to the Guyana Gaming Authority (GGA) for its Casino Operator’s and Casino Premises Licences, and also paid $9M as an application fee.
Three months later in November that application was thrown out by the then Guyana Gaming Authority (GGA) that was chaired by attorney-at-law Roysdale Forde. The GA had justified its decision by stating that it had unanimously found no evidence to determine the hotel’s qualification for the licences it had applied for.
Determined to have its casino operator’s licence, the hotel applied again in 2017 and paid another $9M application fee but the GGA never responded. This same year too, Sleepin came under scrutiny after a headline was published in the state owned newspaper, the Guyana Chronicle suggesting that its owner, Bacchus was associated with a Surinamese accused of money laundering.
The headline read, “Tracking the money…Sleepin boss, associate snared in money laundering probe…”
He later filed a libel suit against the media house and won in October 2020 and awarded the sum $27.5M.
Sleepin had also moved to the court seeking an order in early 2019 for the licences to be processed. That order was granted some months later by Justice Fidela Corbin-Lincoln. The order had compelled GGA to consider processing and determine an application for a Casino Licence for Sleepin International Hotel on or before February 8, 2020.
The licence was yet again pegged back by delays which was blamed on the post-elections conflict, COVID-19.
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By Kurt Campbell
Four years after the first application and with $18 million lost, the Gaming Authority, now under new leadership, has granted Sleep-In International Hotel its Casino Premises License and a Casino Operator’s License.
The doors to the Church Street, Georgetown Casino opened on Tuesday, December 1. The hotel owner, Clifton Bacchus spoke with the News Room by phone and confirmed the opening.
He said the license was granted by the Gaming Authority on Monday, November 30, after a new application was made to the Board, headed by former Minister under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government, Manniram Prashad.
Prashad could not be reached by phone for a comment.
Bacchus told the News Room that this was the third application to be made after two previous applications were turned down – the first one in 2016 under the APNU+AFC government and the chairman of the Gaming Authority by Roysdale Forde, who is now an APNU+AFC Parliamentarian.
Bacchus said he lost $18 million with each of the previous applications costing him $9 million each.
“We waited our turn,” Bacchus said with his voice full of excitement.
“We have been waiting since 2016 when we first got turned down and again in 2017…we lost $18 million,” he added.
According to Bacchus, the casino will employ approximately 300 persons, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first batch of 150 persons will be taken on board.
The businessman reiterated that the granting of the license is a “burden off” off his shoulders and he is elated that the investment has finally materialised.
Bacchus noted that the casino will be opened in keeping with the national COVID-19 curfew.
In December 2019, after a three-year-long battle before the High Court, Justice Fidela Corbin had ordered that the Gaming Authority process and consider the application of Sleep-In International Hotel.
Sleepin Hotel And Casino Guyana
This was to be done on or before February 28, 2020, but it never materialised given the fact that Guyana was heading to the polls on March 2.