Snoqualmie Tribe plans to invest in a casino operation in Fiji
(Deal Needs to be Double Checked by those Responsible!!!)
By Lynda Mapes, Seattle Times staff reporter
December 23, 2011
In its latest business venture the Snoqualmie Tribe is looking all the way to Fiji.
The Fijian government announced Tuesday its decision to grant the nation’s first-ever exclusive gambling license to One Hundred Sands, which has announced plans to build a $290 million, five-star luxury casino resort on Denarau Island, in a partnership with the Snoqualmie Tribe.
“One Hundred Sands has taken care to strategically partner with the Snoqualmie Tribe from Washington State and Seventh Generation LLC, a Native American company with demonstrated excellence establishing new casinos,” said Larry Claunch, chairman of One Hundred Sands, in a news release issued by the prime minister’s office.
In a telephone interview, Claunch said he and the tribe have been talking for about five months, and while the tribe hasn’t yet put any money into the deal, they are negotiating the tribe’s financial stake. The tribe has committed to joining the venture as a partner, Claunch said, and will have ownership in the casino, as well as an active advisory role.
“They are going to be advising us on very aspect of casino management,” said Claunch, a retired developer of retirement homes who moved to Fiji from Salem, Ore., about 10 years ago.
He said the conversations got started with Snoqualmie tribal administrator Matt Mattson first, when Mattson traveled to Fiji and investigated the possibilities.
The new venture is a long way — nearly 6,000 miles — from the tribe’s casino, which opened in 2008 with a $330 million debt. The tribe swung open the doors right at the bottom of the recession and in the middle of one of the worst winters in years. The tribe’s budget, built on rosier expectations, cratered.
The tribe has since restructured its debt, and the casino is doing better, reports by outside analysts show, and its bond rating has improved.
And now the tribe apparently has new business prospects. Fresh from his seaplane, Claunch said Wednesday he would be joining Tribal Chairwoman Shelley Burch and her brother Pat Barker, a hereditary chief for the tribe, for dinner. The two are in Fiji to continue talks about the tribe’s stake in the business, he said. Neither would return calls for comment, and neither did Mattson.
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Fiji real estate still on the radar
by Chris Hutching | Tuesday July 08, 2008
Nukudrau Island is the latest piece of Fiji real estate being marketed in the face of coups and credit crunches.
Located in Natewa Bay, "the largest bay in the southern hemisphere and off the beautiful and exotic northern island of Vanua Levu in Fiji, lies this tropical paradise," the marketing blurb claims.
Visitors get to the island by yacht or private seaplane from Nadi Airport. The offer is for 24 beachfront, private freehold home sites varying between 1000sq m and 2.5ha in size and priced from $795,000. Land and villa packages are also available.
Nukudrau Island is being developed by 100 Sands Ltd (Fiji), a development company that has carried out developments in the US, the UK and Canada under the company name of Holiday Retirement Corporation, both companies managed by the same directors.
Only 8% of Fijian land is freehold and there are no restrictions on buying property in Fiji (although investors may wish to learn about repatriating money from Fiji in the event they wish to sell their property).
The developers also offer 30 moorings that can cater for large boats.
All relevant property titles, leaseholds, building permits and infrastructure are in place for buyers wishing to build their island home. Villas will be designed by architect Peter Rankin from AAPI Design. The villas include modern appliances and staff employed by a body corporate will manage the properties.
Located in Natewa Bay, "the largest bay in the southern hemisphere and off the beautiful and exotic northern island of Vanua Levu in Fiji, lies this tropical paradise," the marketing blurb claims.
Visitors get to the island by yacht or private seaplane from Nadi Airport. The offer is for 24 beachfront, private freehold home sites varying between 1000sq m and 2.5ha in size and priced from $795,000. Land and villa packages are also available.
Nukudrau Island is being developed by 100 Sands Ltd (Fiji), a development company that has carried out developments in the US, the UK and Canada under the company name of Holiday Retirement Corporation, both companies managed by the same directors.
Only 8% of Fijian land is freehold and there are no restrictions on buying property in Fiji (although investors may wish to learn about repatriating money from Fiji in the event they wish to sell their property).
The developers also offer 30 moorings that can cater for large boats.
All relevant property titles, leaseholds, building permits and infrastructure are in place for buyers wishing to build their island home. Villas will be designed by architect Peter Rankin from AAPI Design. The villas include modern appliances and staff employed by a body corporate will manage the properties.
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