Construction workers at Divi Carina Bay Resort’s casino are working at a feverish clip so that dice can start rolling by the middle of next month.
During a tour of the casino building Thursday, Jerry Karcher, Benton Construction’s operations manager, said the fast pace will mean the casino operator will have access to the building in about a week.
"We hope by the end of next week to be out of the interior of the building. The rest is just trimming it out and making it look pretty," Karcher said. "We’ll make it – easily."
Crews have been working seven days a week, 12-to 14-hour days, since November’s Hurricane Lenny knocked out the casino’s original Dec. 15 opening date. As of Thursday, Karcher said construction was about 95 percent complete.
Meanwhile, the first wave of nearly 300 slot machines was expected to be brought into the casino building Thursday afternoon, said Allan Mallory, general manager of the resort casino.
The machines, however, must be tested by an off-island contractor at the expense of the Casino Control Commission before the public can play. The testing costs about $40,000 and as of Thursday, Mallory said he wasn’t sure whether the CCC was ready.
CCC chairwoman Eileen Petersen has been trying to get a check cut from the Department of Finance so the slots can be tested and the casino opened. Testing the machines is expected to take two weeks. Petersen couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.
The funds for the testing are paid by casino applicants through license fees. The money goes into a fund to help pay commission expenses, particularly investigations and inspections.
Mallory said he didn’t know where the government stood as far as the testing was concerned.
"I have no knowledge of that," he said. "Our hands are full taking care of our side of things. We’re very confident that the V.I. government will take care of their end. I haven’t even asked."
The remodeled Divi Carina Bay Resort reopened on Nov. 3, a few weeks before Hurricane Lenny struck the island. The resort had been empty since 1989's Hurricane Hugo. The totally remodeled resort will be managed by a Divi Resorts affiliate and features 126 oceanfront rooms in the main hotel and 20 one-bedroom suites in four hillside villas.
The two-story casino will have 275 slot machines, 10 blackjack tables, two roulette tables and one craps table, a buffet, snack bar and gift shop. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m seven days a week.