The Tribune

By PAUL G TURNQUEST

Chief Reporter

pturnquest@tribunemedia.net

MACAU, China - HAVING put the “last piece of the puzzle together” with the announcement of their new casino partner Global Gaming Asset Management (GGAM), Baha Mar CEO Sarkis Izmirlian said he is incredibly proud of his hardworking team who have done so much to get the property to where it is today.

“I don’t know if vindication is the right word, but it feels good,” Mr Izmirlian said as he fielded questions from the press following yesterday’s big announcement.

As far back as 2008 when Harrahs Entertainment backed out of a joint-venture deal with Baha Mar, then Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham expressed some doubt as to whether or not the project would fulfil its obligations in its heads of agreement with the government.

His comments were echoed in other political and financial circles as some questioned whether or not this multi-billion dollar dream would ever see the light of day.

There was one person however, who never questioned the project.

“Some may have had doubts but I had no doubts,” Mr Izmirlian said.

“You know at the end of the day it takes perseverance to do whatever you want in life. You don’t become an excellent ballroom dancer by strapping on your shoes and going out and dancing. It takes years of practice. Or a tennis player, service, best doctors in the world, the best lawyers, whatever it is you do you have to work very hard at it. So we work very hard at creating Baha Mar.

“These big projects are incredibly difficult to pull off, anywhere in the world. But we were able to pull it off in the Bahamas, in the middle of a recession, which just goes to show you the belief of the people in the Bahamas, the belief of the people in our management team and the brand and destination we are creating.”

Now with Baha Mar slated to open in December 2014, Mr Izmirlian said the property is primed to take advantage of the fact that the world will then be recovering from its global recession.

“A bit of luck helps, obviously. We were able to build in a time when contractors were hungry for business and we were built under budget, and now we are going to open when the world recovers. So for me, personally, I am just very proud of my team. They have done all the hard work to get us to where we are today. I don’t know if vindication is the right word, but it feels good.

“Sitting out there at lunch making comments and halfway through my comments I thought to myself – just pause for a minute and enjoy this moment, it feels kinda nice. You know we have finally put the last piece of the puzzle together.”