OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Treasure Hunt, a $100-million gaming lounge, is set to open its doors in this tourist resort town within the next two weeks, with 91 gaming machines aimed at providing entertainment for locals as well as visitors to the island.

Most of the machines are already installed and the operators of the facility say they are only awaiting adequate power supply from the Jamaica Public Service Company and approval from the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission.

A stage is also being built to facilitate a band and the staging of karaoke sessions. It is anticipated that all the final details will be hammered out within the next two weeks.

Treasure Hunt is being managed by Breda Ferry, who worked briefly with the Jamaica Tourist Board in 2002 and has over 20 years of experience in casino operations in Israel, Germany, Holland, Belgium, England, Ireland, Canada and several African countries.

The gaming lounge will provide employment for over 60 persons and Government is set to rake in at least $1 million per year in taxes from its operation.

“We have 80 machines, and we pay $12,500 per year for each — that’s (based on a) $10,000 tax levy, $2,000 registration fee and $500 for registration sticker,” said Ferry.

The games of chance at Treasure Hunt include four major machines that offer:

* automated roulette for eight players;

* wheel of fortune, a bingo type game for 10 players;

* a horse-racing machine with a track and two large screens; and

* a dice game called sic bo.

In addition, there are 87 other machines including one-armed bandits, lucky seven and horse-racing.

While casino gambling is prohibited in the island, gaming lounges and other offerings of games of chance such as the lottery have flourished. Treasure Hunt will join Coral Cliff, a similar facility along Montego Bay’s Hip Strip, where these games are offered.

There have long been calls for the introduction of casino gambling, from certain sections of the society, but with the church equally vocal in its resistance to gambling, the major political parties have, for the most part, avoided the controversial issue.

But when it was again raised at the recent summit between the Government and the private sector, Prime Minister P J Patterson, for the first time, left the door open.

He agreed to have a study done, to determine the economic and social impact casino gambling can have on the country, and pro-casino lobbyists have latched onto this as a sign that the Government has softened its stance.

For her part, the Treasure Hunt manager argued that casinos would significantly help Jamaica’s economy.

“It’s a multi-million-dollar industry, just like the banks. Casinos are needed to boost the tourism industry; there are lots of benefits — employment, foreign exchange, spin-offs for the food, transport, hotel and other sectors and of course taxes will be paid,” said Ferry.