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Princess Resorts: Unveiling Jamaica’s First Casino

GREEN ISLAND, Jamaica  – The US$400 million Princess Resorts will have 1,005 rooms and many overwater suites. It will bring a new aspect to Jamaica’s tourism next year. This is the first casino in the country since licensing laws were approved in June 2010. The Casino Gaming Act was enacted in March of that year.

Enrico Pezzoli, the Managing Director, made the announcement at the official opening. This event took place on December 12, 2024, for Princess Grand Jamaica and Princess Senses The Mangrove.

Pezzoli said “these two resorts promise to elevate Jamaica’s all-inclusive experience and draw more tourists to our shores than ever before.”

Full-service Style Casino

He went on to announce that “Princess is proud to be the first in Jamaica to offer a full-service style casino where guests can enjoy a state-of-the-art gaming lounge and at the same time world class food and beverage. Construction has already started, and we are planning to open our casino by the fourth quarter of 2025.”

Mr. Pezzoli also shared that in its first week, Tripadvisor ranked Princess Grand Jamaica as number two in Jamaica.The current staff complement of 1,400 will be increased to 1,700 when the resort “is in full capacity in a few weeks.”

Princess Grand Jamaica Grand Opening

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness and Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett cut the ribbon to mark the official opening.

Princess Resorts: Unveiling Jamaica's First Casino
Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Honourable Andrew Holness (4th left) leads in cutting the ribbon signifying the official opening of Princess Hotels and Resorts. He is joined on the left by Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, and on the right by Enrico Pezzoli, Managing Director of Princess Hotels and Resorts Jamaica. Other attendees were the Mayor of Lucea, Councillor Sheridan Samuels, and Dr. Wykeham McNeill. Councillor Samuels was third from the left. Dr. McNeill was fourth from the left. He represented Opposition Leader Mark Golding.

 

In his speech, Prime Minister Holness called the resort “one of the most beautiful hotels I have seen.” He noted that every room has a view of the sea, which “is a major selling point.” He praised the architects for their amazing work.

“I also want to commend the workmen who have put their labour into this; many of them are from this parish, and all over Jamaica, and I want to acknowledge their work in this achievement,” he said

Minister Bartlett welcomed the news of the first casino. He praised Roberto Cabrera Plana and his family for their great investment in Jamaica.

Attributing this and other developments slated in tourism to the fact that Jamaica had achieved stability, the Prime Minister underscored that Jamaica needed to pivot with “speed and efficiency in… improving infrastructure to support this amazing investment, and most importantly, to ensure that the people of Jamaica benefit from the stability.”

Improvements in Lucea

Prime Minister Holness also reaffirmed his commitment to getting the Hopewell Bypass and Lucea Bypass done, making the investment in fixing the town of Lucea with its potential as a tourist attraction. “We have already started the plans; we already have the alignment for the bypass and in the next budget we will be making allocations to begin,” he assured.

“We are going to create the best tourism corridor in the Caribbean when we have completed that bypass from Montego Bay straight through to Negril, he promised, while also stating: “We have some excellent plans for Negril, including a new airport, including two parks; one will be a beach park and one will be an echo park.” The Prime Minister also announced an intention to declare Negril a special investment area “to recreate the whole energy in Negril, to get back Negril as the pulse of tourism.”

 

 

South Florida Caribbean News

The SFLCN.com Team provides news and information for the Caribbean-American community in South Florida and beyond.

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