Condado Plaza Hilton to reopen casino following $33M investment
The Condado Plaza Hilton will get back into the casino business, with the projected opening of a new 15,000 square-foot gaming space that will house 300 slot machines and dozens of gaming tables.
The Condado Plaza Hilton, which shuttered its casino in 2015, got its endorsement from the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission, putting it one step closer to securing its required final license, agency officials said.
The facility is expected to open in 2022, when it will create some 200 new direct jobs.
Two other hotels — the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel, Dorado del Mar Beach Resort, in Dorado and the Tribute Portfolio Ponce Grand Casino, in Ponce — have requested the endorsement of the Gaming Commission to open their own gaming spaces, agency Executive Director Orlando Rivera said.
According to the data provided in the petitions, the casinos will occupy a combined 14,300 square feet and will create about 120 jobs. The two casinos will have a total of 445 slot machines and 13 gaming tables, Rivera added.
The official explained that the opening of the casinos will have a multiplier effect on the economy when the online sports betting system comes into force, which the Commission will also regulate, and will apply to hotels, small inns, and casinos.
The regulations for online gambling options, currently being adopted by the government entity, “will create fertile ground to boost the tourism industry, which, prior to the pandemic, generated 86,000 jobs and more than $760 million for the government’s coffers.
The government takes in more than 50% of the profits generated by the slot machines. The money is distributed among the General Fund, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and the University of Puerto Rico.
