Tourism activist Tony Brannon has called for Bermuda to invest in a casino resort ? or lose ground to the competition and face the slow death of the industry.

Speaking at the United Bermuda Party conference on Saturday, the former Forty Thieves nightclub owner and member of the Tourism Action Now group called for a showpiece venue at Morgan?s Point.

?Bermuda must address issues such as gaming and resort casinos or I predict that in another five years there will be no industry left to save,? he told delegates during the conference?s morning session at the Elbow Beach Hotel.

?Holiday-makers want fun, they want entertainment ? that?s what many Bermudians want when they go on holiday

?We need to look at the practicalities of encouraging full-blown but well-operated casino resorts at Morgan?s Point and other properties. And we also need to consider opening a small and exclusive hotel/casino in Hamilton.

?Casinos are now almost as ubiquitous in US and Canadian communities as 7/11s or fast food franchises. A casino, in and of itself, will not reverse Bermuda?s tourism decline. But if gaming were to be incorporated into a new showpiece resort, provide the centre-piece of a massive complex built around Bermuda?s other charms, casinos could in fact pay off for Bermuda.

?It?s an everything-or-nothing roll of the dice, to be sure. But the alternative is nothing at all.?

He added that Bermuda was ?boring? after dark and that many hotels resemble ?well-appointed undertakers? parlours on many an evening?.

He cited examples of resorts in Caribbean Islands such as Anguilla, Canouan Island (part of the Grenadines) and St. Thomas where multi-million dollar hotel and casino resorts were being established by key industry figures, such as Donald Trump.

But former UBP Minister Quinton Edness took the floor during the debate and said that gambling leads to prostitution and hinted that, if the party were to support the idea of casinos he would no longer support it.

Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell said that the UBP wasn?t prepared to take a pro or anti-gambling standpoint at this time, but wanted to see the Government ?raise the level of debate to one where actual decisions can be made and the arguments can be put forward in a meaningful way?.

See Page 3 for further coverage of the UBP annual conference