With the sale of Treasure Island Resort going through any day now, signs of change are apparent with the Monte Cristo Chop House already closed and renovations started at the resort.
The resort is being purchased by local business man Harry Lalli along with his brother and brother’s wife, Amrit and Amy Gill of St. Louis, Missouri. The sale is believed to be in the region of $17 million although nothing has been disclosed by those directly involved yet.
The Monte Cristo Chop House has been closed for about a week now and although a few of the 17 staff from that part of the resort are now working in a different capacity within Treasure Island, most have moved onto other jobs around the island.
‘We tried to make sure everyone was accounted for in some way,’ said the resort’s Receiver Mr. Jeff Coyne, who was appointed to the resort on behalf of Scotia Bank.
The restaurant was in need of renovations and had to be closed, he said, and will be one of the first areas to be addressed.
Although the resort has had repairs going on since the damage done by Hurricane Ivan last September, renovations have now begun to take shape under the new ownership, which will be official in a matter of days.
The resort will ultimately cease to exist as a hotel under the new ownership, operating mostly as apartments, something Mr. Lalli says will give other hotels in the same league a chance for better occupancy rates.
Following the close of the sale, current employees will be let go with full severance pay and some will be re-hired. The resort has a total of 73 staff.
‘We will give priority to current Treasure Island employees, especially Caymanians,’ said Mr. Lalli.
Such areas as cleaning, gardening, maintenance, laundry and security will still be very much needed, he affirmed.
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