New casino proposed for Punta del Este
Uruguayan President signs resolution authorised under Articles in 2002 law
A resolution signed by the President of the Republic of Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, has approved the “private business initiative submitted by the FOSARA S.A. company, based on Articles 19 and 20 of Law No. 17.555, dated 18 September 2002 and its Regulatory Decree No. 442/002, dated 28 September 2002” for the construction of a casino resort on the site of the former Hotel San Rafael.
The document has also been signed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Tourism, “both agencies with favourable reports on the said initiative,” which consists of the “granting of a licence to operate a Casino under the exploitation regime basis, named “Cipriani Ocean Resort and Club Residences – Punta del Este.”
The Presidential Resolution confers on Fosara S.A. powers to submit “feasibility studies provided for under the law,” and to be able to be awarded a licence for the second casino resort in Punta del Este. This will be in direct competition with Enjoy (formerly Conrad), now the property of the Chilean group of the same name.
According to local reports, the casino at the Conrad hotel was licensed exclusively as the only casino in Punta del Este, with exceptions for an investment equal to or greater than that made then by the local company set up but owned by Caesars Entertainment of Las Vegas, USA.
