American gaming company Lottery & Wagering Solutions Inc. announced it is in the process of terminating all of the company's casino operations in Suriname.
This decision came from the Board of Directors and also was announced that the company on February 21, 2005, had entered into an agreement to sell for US$500,000 its wholly owned subsidiary which has operated a small casino in the Golden Tulip Casino Hotel in Paramaribo since September, 2004.
The company's principal operations in Suriname had been conducted from the Plaza Hotel in Paramaribo until December 31, 2004, through its subsidiary, Suriname Leisure Company (SLC). SLC is a fifty-fifty joint-venture with Surinamese company Parbhoe's Handelmaatschappij which operated Suriname Palace Casino.
Partners became bitter enemies because of financial differences. On January 1, 2005, Palace Casino was evicted from its premises in the Plaza Hotel in Paramaribo, and was forced to halt all of its operations. A Suriname Court held that the plaintiff in the eviction proceeding which had taken title to the Plaza Hotel in a foreclosure proceeding was not bound by SLC's existing lease. The lease was for a period of fifteen years.
The operations of Palace Casino and management fees paid to Dorsett Hotels & Resorts, Inc., for managing the operations of the casino, have historically accounted for substantially all of the recent operations and cash flow of the American gaming company.
Although an appeal of the eviction is still pending, which if successful, could result in restoration of Palace Casino to the premises in the Plaza Hotel and the reinstatement of the Lease, the Board concluded that termination of operations was in the Company's best interests because of the lack of success of the Company's extensive efforts to identify and obtain a suitable alternative site in Suriname, the physical safety of the executives and staff, the uncertainties of the litigation process in Suriname, and the time and expense involved in Suriname, as well as other factors.
In the meantime Lottery & Wagering Solutions has delayed the completion of its financial statements and the filing of its quarterly report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the period ended December 31, 2004, in order to properly reflect in its financial statements the Board's decision to terminate the operations in Suriname.
The move to terminate all of its operation in Suriname comes as a complete surprise to business partner Gautham Parbhoe. Speaking to Caribbean Net News, the Surinamese entrepreneur said he was very surprised, since he has impounded all of the casino's possessions in the course of an ongoing lawsuit.
Efforts to get the side of Palace Casino were futile. The relations between the partners deteriorated when Parbhoe’s Handelmaatschappij accused the American management of the casino of holding back revenues. Parbhoe’s Handelsmaatschappij who owns the casino license subsequently retracted the permit of the joint-venture operation.
In December 2005 the authorities ordered Palace Casino to stop all activities until it could present a valid license. Since last week casino license holders in Suriname have been scrambling to get their business up and running to meet a government deadline. If license holders don’t operate their permit by Monday 28 February, 2005, the permit becomes invalid.