Operations Manager of the Princess Buddy’s International Hotel, Oguz Tayanc, yesterday said that the casino is likely to be completed in about two months.

He gave this new deadline as he said that construction works on the gambling facilities are progressing slower than had been anticipated.

However, he noted that equipment for the casino should arrive soon. According to Tayanc, among the items coming in are slot machines and table games such as Black Jack and Poker.

He expressed optimism that the casino will be a huge success even though the law stipulates that only guests of the hotel will be allowed to gamble.

Tayanc said that he believes that the casino will be well sustained.

The Princess Group of companies took over the Buddy’s International Hotel earlier this year.

They are investing at least US$2M into the building of the casino to be located in the Providence, East Bank Demerara building.

Tayanc had said that they will be employing some 150 Guyanese to work in the casino. According to him, only top management persons are going to be foreigners.

The Princess Group has already been granted its casino licence.

In addition to the casino, Tayanc had said that management plans to include entertainment centres in the Buddy’s Princess Hotel premises.

Tayanc, who is in charge of operations for the Caribbean and South America, said the company has hotels in twelve countries and 11 of their hotels hold five-star ratings.

In May, Chief Executive Officer of the Princess Group of Companies, Sudi Özkan, was reported as saying that he had bought Buddy’s International Hotel for the sum of US$15 million, and planned to invest US$10 million to upgrade it to a five-star hotel.

The hotel was reportedly built at a cost of US$13 million with several mortgages and a loan from the Guyana government, part of which has been repaid in cash with an outstanding balance which was to have been wiped clean through room nights granted to the government.