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The LPGA Tour makes its first-ever appearance in the tropical islands of the Bahamas this week with the inaugural Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. The Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island will feature a star-studded field of 144 players competing over four days for a chance at a $195,000 first-place check and to be the first to etch their name on the tournament’s trophy.

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To commemorate the 40th year of independence of The Bahamas, ZNS News network has released a series of videos of footage taken during the ceremony July 9, 1973.
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Pictured: William Weidner, GGAM CEO (inset); Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar Chairman & CEO. (PRNewsFotos/Baha Mar)

NASSAU, The Bahamas, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Baha Mar Ltd. today announced that Global Gaming Asset Management (GGAM), one of the casino industry’s most successful management teams, has been retained to manage the Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, the centerpiece of the $3.5 billion Baha Mar integrated destination resort in The Bahamas, scheduled to open in December 2014.

GGAM’s senior executives William P. Weidner , Chief Executive Officer; Bradley H. Stone , President; and Garry Saunders , Executive Vice President, were involved with opening and managing the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas and the Venetian Macao, and participated in the development the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore during their tenure with Las Vegas Sands. They formed GGAM in 2011, after ending their affiliation with Las Vegas Sands. Eric Chiu and his Macau-based Asian team were added shortly thereafter. GGAM’s most recent projects include the first phase of the $1.2 billion Solaire Manila, an integrated resort and casino facility in the Philippines that is geared toward Asian and VIP clientele.

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Canada and the Bahamas have held discussions on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka. The Bahamas Foreign Ministry said that its Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell discussed the Sri Lanka summit with visiting Canadian Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“We are fellow Commonwealth countries and have been working in a spirit of friendly cooperation since The Bahamas attained its independence almost forty years ago. The common themes are democracy, the rule of law, respect for the rights of the individual including the right to privacy and the security of the citizens, their persons and property. We exchanged views on these issues today, particularly in light of the upcoming Heads of Government conference in Sri Lanka in the fall,” Fred Mitchell said in a statement.

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Realtors in The Bahamas are witnessing an uptick in sales in tandem with infrastructure upgrades and major construction products.
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Kerzner International Holdings Ltd., builder of Atlantis resorts in the Bahamas and Dubai, formed a partnership to construct Saudi Arabia’s first One & Only resort.

Kerzner, based in the Bahamas, joined with Al Khozama Management Co. and Saudi Oger Ltd. to build the project north of Jeddah on the Red Sea, the companies said in a statement today. The resort is designed to include 150 rooms, suites and villas as well as restaurants, meeting rooms and a spa on 95,000 square meters (23.5 acres) of land.

This is an excerpt from Businessweek as it appeared on May 21, 2013. For updates or to read the current version of this post in its entirety, please click here.

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NEW YORK, MAY 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) (“MHG” or the “Company”) today provided clarification regarding statements made in a filing submitted by The Yucaipa Companies (“Yucaipa”). The reference in the Yucaipa filing was to a letter received in November 2012 from a large international hotel company proposing to acquire all of the Company’s outstanding common stock for $7.50 per share in cash. The letter said the proposal was based on publicly available information and would be subject to confirmatory due diligence. The Company’s Board of Directors discussed this proposal and concluded that the price was not sufficiently attractive to commence formal negotiations in light of the views expressed to the Company’s special transaction committee by its independent financial advisor regarding the prospects for growth in its stock price over the next several years if the Company is successful in securing additional management contracts through implementation of its strategic plan. The Company’s Board responded that it was not interested at the proposed price, but that it might entertain a proposal at a significantly higher price. A similar proposal was received by the Company from the same party at the same price in February 2013 and the Company’s position on the proposal was unchanged.

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Awilhelmsen AS, a largest shareholder of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL: Quote), announced Thursday that it would vote its shares in favor of a shareholder proposal to eliminate classification of the Royal Caribbean Board of Directors and in accordance with a recommendation of Institutional Shareholder Services or “ISS”.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL: Quote) announced that its Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, Brian Rice, will transition his Chief Financial Officer responsibilities to Jason Liberty as he prepares for his retirement in the spring of 2014. However, Rice will continue to serve as Vice Chairman until his retirement, overseeing Royal Caribbean’s finance, supply chain, strategy and information technology functions.

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