Senators Praise Opening Of Caravelle Hotel Casino

ST. CROIX — After successfully using their power to override a Mapp veto that sought to encourage the owners of Caravelle Hotel to first build the required amount of rooms mandated by law before operating the slot machine casino in downtown Christiansted, senators praised the facility’s grand opening — which happens all this weekend — as bringing new life to Christiansted, and a sign that St. Croix is on the rise economically.

The movement started with a Senator Nereida Rivera-O’Reilly-sponsored bill back in the 30th Legislature, that sought to allow business owners in Christiansted and Frederiksted to obtain a special license to build and operate casinos in St. Croix’s two historic towns. The measure was vetoed by then-Governor John de Jongh in October, 2014, but became law when 10 of 15 senators voted in its favor and overrode Mr. de Jongh’s veto.

The legislation allows owners of existing hotels or other businesses in the towns’ “Enterprise Zones,” which offers low-tax incentives to businesses operating there, to obtain casino licenses if they purchase or renovate more property within those zones with a portion of net revenues from their Enterprise Zone businesses.

The bill’s summary states: “To qualify for an approved hotel in the Enterprise Zone, the applicant must make Qualifying Enterprise Zone Investments in an amount equal to sixty percent of the net cash flow generated by their Consolidated Enterprise Zone Investments during the first ten years following the opening of their casino.”

Gambling revenues are taxed at normal rates and are not subject to tax breaks. A minimum of 72 hotel rooms are required, however Caravelle Hotel only has 43.

In an interview with The Consortium on Thursday night at the opening ceremony, Senator Neville James said that before the disagreements between Government House and the Senate on the matter of Caravelle Hotel moving forward without reaching the law’s requirements became public, a meeting was held in an attempt to forge a compromise.

“I said to the governor, ‘governor your concerns are legitimate. You don’t want this entity to make money to build the additional hotel rooms, so let them put up the cost for the additional rooms in escrow to show they have the money upfront,’ and that’s the route we went,” Mr. James said. The meeting also included senators Kurt Vialet and Kenneth Gittens.

Mr. Gittens later moved an amendment that would require Caravelle Hotel to put up only 60 percent in escrow, and Mr. James said even though he supported the amendment, “I knew that the entity was willing to put up 100 percent. And they actually admitted to me today that they’re going to put 100 percent,” he said last night.

“It’s not that they’re waiting to make money,” Mr. James continued. “Once that money is in escrow they have to deliver. And we’re going to stay on top of it because we don’t want the public and outside world to think that we’re going to just be bought with respect to development. We can’t do that. And I also made it clear tonight that they must make sure that the property is advertised because we want money coming in. We don’t want the local people coming in and that’s how the casino ends up making money. We don’t want that. We want more airlifts, more people coming in — not only to stay here, but if they want to wager that’s fine,” Mr. James said.

Mr. Vialet echoed Mr. James’ sentiments: “I think it represents a revitalization of Christiansted. As you can see, down here is crowded. There is a lot of activity — the government parking lot had no parking spaces — so I think it’s a positive step in the right direction, and I think it’s going to bring people back to this part of the town, along with the new restaurant Balter and other activities. You’re beginning to see that positive growth in Christiansted, and I’ve been an advocate of stop being negative and look at the positive things that’s going on. Let’s continue to push and develop those areas that we have access to.”

Mr. Vialet said he learned on Thursday following a meeting with the owners of ArcLight that 448 individuals are already employed at the Limetree Bay oil storage facility, and the casino has already hired 55 employees. “That’s 500 new jobs to the island of St. Croix in one year,” he said.

Former senator Diane Capehart, attending last night’s ceremony, said she too, being a co-sponsor along with Mrs. Rivera-O’Reilly on the Enterprise Zone bill, was pleased to see the tangible results of their work.

“I am very happy to see that this came into fruition because in the 30th Legislature, we thought that this would be part of the revitalization of Christiansted,” Ms. Capehart said. “Not only trying to bring life back into Christiansted with casinos and hotels, this would also give restaurant owners and retail outlets incentive to build, which would give people more reasons to come back into Christiansted. I think this is a start.”

Hubert Lorenzo Frederick, a former lieutenant governor candidate with Moleto Smith, Jr. during the 2014 General Elections, expressed delight that Christiansted would once more see buzz during the nights, which he said would work as a kickstarter of sorts to propel the town into economic prosperity.

And Keiron Joseph, one of the new employees at the casino, said working in a gambling facility was a new experience, and that he’s grateful for gaining employment after being without work for sometime.

“It’s a new experience for me. I figured I’ve never worked in the casino before — never even been in a casino before — but when I saw the position online and I got to work with the machines, I said to myself it might be a good opportunity because I’m a computer guy,” Mr. Joseph said. “When I got hired and got a chance to play with the machines, I noticed a lot of things were familiar with what I’ve done with computers, so it’s a great experience and I actually like it.”

Asked about salary, Mr. Joseph said, “It’s good!”