The agreement on the renewal of Dragonara Casino lease has been postponed again and the casino workers suffer from this situation. “Employees are living in fear of the future. This tension spares no one, as even managers are experiencing it”, writes Chiara Bonello in The Independent today.
The newspaper explains that, although employees are not really concerned about who will win the tender, this status quo is annoying for the staff – and for the casino itself:
There has been no investment in the building for quite a while. If absolutely necessary, when something breaks it is patched up, in the hope of making it last that little while longer since the future remains so uncertain.
The government-owned Dragonara Casino has been waiting for a new agreement for about a year now.
In the past ten years, the casino was operated by a consortium formed by Dragonara Casino Ltd and French group Lucien Barrière. On the 4th of May 2009, the Malta Investment Management Company Limited (MIMCOL), a government owned consulting agency, issued a request for proposals initiating “a competitive tender process for the award of a new 10 year-term concession for the management, operation and development of the business activities of the Dragonara Casino Complex”. Since then, the tender process has seemed to be delayed, over and over again, but could be completed next April.
Three bidders compete over the tender: Dragonara Ltd (the present operator), Tomino Ltd (operating the Portomaso and Oracle casinos) and Novomatic Peninsula (a consortium formed by Novomatic, a large casino and slot machines operator, and Pinnacle gaming, the operator of the Fairplay slot machines outlets in Malta).
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