Aysén Regional Insecurity Delays Opening of Casino

The construction of a casino has been put on hold by protests.

AYSÉN – Dreams Casino recently announced that the scheduled opening of its Coyhaique Casino has been set back to March 28th, due to the demonstrations of the Aysén civil movement and the political uncertainty in the region at the moment.

This is the sixth Dreams Casino in Chile and its holding partners include a fund of Citigroup and Claude Fischer, who stated that the eventual opening will “ultimately depend on the evolution of social conflict.”

The casino, which features a five-star hotel, restaurant, games rooms and a spa, is set to bring 195 much-needed jobs to the region. As of now, more than 800 have applied for positions.

Aysén has no other casinos, so a training academy has been established by the company to ensure that staff positions are filled by locals.

Mr. Fischer, who is from Aysén, is at ease with the delayed opening of the games rooms and sympathetic to the civil movement.

“I believe many of the demands being raised are fair, much-needed and long-awaited by residents of Region XI,” he said. “Moreover, as an aysenino, I know that there has been a permanent abandonment of sensitive issues such as health. Even today there is no oncology unit, scanner or MRI. We pay more for electricity and gas than the rest of Chile. There’s no college or technical training centers, and no roads connecting us to the rest of Chile.”

The delayed opening and the sharp decline in tourism since the demonstrations began, along with the upcoming winter, will most likely have a negative effect on the casino’s potential income this year.

On the bright side, negotiations between the Aysén civil movement and the national government have recently been re-established, which could create the necessary environment for the casino to open its doors to business by the end of March.