February 13, 2014

Dear Sir,

At the end of last summer I wrote a letter to your newspaper expressing how I had been against legalised gambling in Bermuda all of my life. I emphasised my stance had changed because we have an unprecedented amount of Bermudians out of jobs. The second reason I discussed, was our sole reliance on International Business.

I mentioned that I wasn’t bothered by a referendum as the matter of getting Bermudians back to work is of national importance. However I never dreamed that the OBA would be so naive as to believe they could introduce a model that would allow locals to gamble; I was shocked to see they are going to allow the amount of beds a hotel has as a gauge to allowing a casino and the most recent talk of having 3 casinos. If common sense prevails the OBA will have only two dedicated 5 star hotels with casinos. Any more than two casinos would mean potential failure for a third as it cannot be sustained.

I was highly insulted by the OBA manipulating the wording of the proposed ballot. I also listened to a lot of people and they wish for the OBA to stick to the promise they made at election time to hold a referendum. So I attended the Leopards Club organised by Cordell Riley where he presented his excellent paper that had been read recently at a European conference on Responsible Tourism. While there I signed the petition to support a Referendum organised by a separate group recognising Jonathan Starling and Clinical Psychologist and former Permanent Secretary for Health Mr. Michael Ashton.

Morgan’s Point and the former Holiday Inn/Club Med in St. George’s are without question the most suitable properties for a 5 Star hotel and casino as they can be appropriately gated and are surrounded by ocean views. Any casino built should require 60/40 Bermudian ownership and be required to hire no less than 80% of Bermudians.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that international investment is required. Political parties need to stop bickering as we look divided, infantile and unreliable on the world stage. Some closed door round table discussions between the OBA and the PLP need to take place and when they have completed hammering it out, they need to make a joint press statement with a cohesive vision for gaming. I know this is not Westminster style, but really, do we have to do everything British.

Yours sincerely,

Cheryl Pooley