Operator News
Chile – Ovalle Casino & Resort to Open in March
By Lewis - 19 June 2015
The new Ovalle Casino & Resort could open its doors in March in 2016, according to reports from the Argentine/ Spanish investor consortium Boldt Peralada.
“To date we have carried out 43 per cent of the total in structural works, we estimate that in December all the physical work will be done so that the assembly of other parts and decoration work can begin. The deadline is unclear, but we have set a goal to finish everything in January, to perform a trial in February and open in March,” said Commercial Director of Ovalle Casino & Resort, Juan Carlos Salaberry.
Total investment in the project will stand at US$50m, making it one of the highest private investments ever in the history of Ovalle.
“We have two casinos in Argentina and two in Brazil, so it was logical that we also invest in Chile. We chose Ovalle for three reasons. When selecting open spaces to install a casino, we saw a great opportunity here. There is also a great vitality in terms of investment in the region and, most importantly, we decided on Ovalle because of the warmth of the local people,” said the Director of Corporate Affairs for the Boldt Group, William Gabela.
The work began in late 2014, creating more than 300 jobs local jobs and will ultimately create more than 1500 jobs . Mayor of Ovalle Claudio Renteria welcomed the new project saying that “this private investment is very important for us, as we continue to strengthen growth in tourism, so I thank Boldt and Peralada, because together we are will be able to develop our community,” he said.
The Ovalle Casino & Resort will also be the first wine spa in South America. Representatives of the Spanish Argentine group Ovalle Casino Resort SA (Boldt from Argentina and Grupo Peralada from Spain) won the rights to operate the final casino licence in Chile in September 2013.
The awarding of the licence ended a yearlong process during which Ovalle Casino Resort had gradually emerged as firm favourites to win. The group scored a total of 1,825.79 points out of a possible 2,000 points which were available during the tender process after Casino Austria, which initially owned the licence, abandoned the project in 2012.
