Pretoria - One of South Africa’s oldest casinos, the Carousel, has been sold.
It is due to open its doors again soon.
Sun International yesterday announced that it had sold the Carousel’s licence, subject to its receiving regulatory approval.
The casino, located about 55km north of the city, as well as the hotel bars and restaurants, is set to reopen on December 15 under new management.
Sun International does not at this stage want to divulge to whom it had sold this pink landmark, nor for how much.
Enid Vickers, who issued a statement on the announcement on behalf of Sun International, told the Pretoria News that the new owners did not want to reveal their identity at this stage.
“Once the licence has been approved, they will make their own announcement,” she said.
A regulatory application has been submitted to the North West Gambling Board and this will now follow due process. In the interim, Sun International has appointed a management company to run the casino.
Sun International chief executive Anthony Leeming said: “Earlier this year we announced that we would not reopen the Carousel Casino after lockdown restrictions were lifted, and that remains the case.
“However, by allowing the casino to be run by a management company, we will be protecting the livelihoods of many previous staff who can now be re-employed.”
He added that they remained the legal owners of the gambling licence until such time as they received Gauteng Gambling Board approval for the sale.
“But the casino will no longer form part of the Sun International Group, and it will not receive benefits from our Most Valued Guest loyalty programme,” he said.
In addition to the casino, which opened in 1991, the property consists of a 57-room hotel, 369 apartments that formed part of the staff village, 55 000m² of space for retail development and 582 hectares of undeveloped land.
It is said that the property has a municipal valuation of more than R500 million.
Covid-19 lockdown regulations forced the casino to close its doors in April.
Pretoria News