Sun International to Open Panama Casino

Sun International announced that it has agreed to buy the casino component of the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama.

As part of the deal it will also acquire the Penthouse level of the development which it plans to use as a Salon Prive as well as a number of apartments in the building.

Sun International is paying $45 million for the premises and it is expected that it will cost another $60 million to equip the casino and the Salon Prive with around 600 slot machines, 32 tables and food and entertainment facilities.

Graeme Stephens, who will soon take over as CEO of Sun International, said that the company “stumbled” over this opportunity and described it as a “gem”.

The deal is very different to how the company usual conducts its business, for a start it will not own the whole development, just the casino, and there is no exclusivity clause in the casino license.

Stephens said that they “had to get our heads around this, as it turns out it wasn’t that difficult. When the group saw the building and came to understand the Trump standards, they recognised a group they could work with.”