SUPREME Ventures Limited (SVL) will soon open a gaming lounge in the municipality of Portmore, St Catherine, its first operation of the kind in the fastest-growing city on the island.

The gaming lounge will be located at the McCastle, an impressive new building in the city owned by the McMaster family. SVL has occupied the building via a lease arrangement with the family, which also owns the McMaster Centre across the road.

“The plan is to have a gaming lounge there and we are hoping that we can roll out by the end of March,” SVL head of communication Sonia Davidson informed the Business Observer yesterday.

According to Davidson, the gaming lounge will employ approximately 40 persons and house between 80 to 100 machines. It will be open from Wednesday to Sunday, 3pm to 11 pm.

According to Davidson, the idea to open a gaming lounge in Portmore came about after SVL market research revealed that “…there is a need for an entertainment option in Portmore”. She said the firm also looked at locations in Naggo’s Head and Greater Portmore but decided on setting up at McCastle because it’s in Portmore’s main hub — near to the mall — which attracts a lot of consumer traffic.

Portmore is the fourth urban centre to open a SVL gaming lounge, after Kingston, May Pen and Montego Bay.

During its most recent two month-ended September 30 2009 financial report — having changed its financial year from October 31 to December 31, the most recent financial results represented only two months after the period reported prior, which ended July 31, 2009 — SVL posted a loss of $26 million from its gaming and hospitality division. This result, however, represented an improvement compared to the $39-million loss reported over the comparative period the year prior. SVL noted in the report that the improvement was due to the restructuring of the gaming lounge operations and the elimination of or reduction in operating hours at different lounges.

As part of the restructuring excercise, SVL announced in October the cessation of its operations of the Villagio Gaming Lounge at the Villagio Hotel.