One month to opening, Baha Mar waiting on casino license

The Baha Mar resort casino project in the Bahamas has been officially handed over to its new owner but the property has yet to receive a gaming license just one month before its scheduled soft opening.

On Tuesday, the Bahamian subsidiary of Hong Kong conglomerate Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) officially accepted a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy from the project’s chief contractor, China Construction America (CCA), which signifies that the property’s safety, mechanical and electrical systems have all passed inspection.

The transfer came four months after CTFE confirmed that it was the new owner of the unfinished $4.2b Baha Mar project, after working out a deal with the Chinese bankers who foreclosed on original owner Sarkis Izmirlian following the property’s 2015 bankruptcy filing.

The certificate transfer allows Baha Mar to accept reservations for guests at the Grand Hyatt hotel – the first of three hotels set to open on the property – and CTFE Bahamas president Graeme Davis told local media that the property would begin booking guests “very, very soon” following the launch of a major marketing campaign.