The Netherlands Antilles consist of two of the three “ABC” islands (Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire) of the southern Caribbean and the Dutch half of the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten. These islands are autonomous in their domestic affairs, but they report to the government at The Hague in matters involving international affairs. Casino policy is in the latter category. St. Martin/Sint Maarten is an island of thirty-seven square miles; sixteen square miles (Sint Maarten) are on the Dutch side, and twenty-one square miles (St. Martin) are controlled from Paris as a subperfecture of Guadeloupe. The casinos on the French side have not been developed to attract large numbers of tourists; on the other hand, the Dutch casinos operate within large resort hotels. The seven Dutch casinos have gambling junkets and offer credit for high-stakes gamblers.
Bonaire and Curaçao were governed jointly with Aruba until that island won independent national status in 1986. Bonaire has two casinos, one of which – the Flamingo Beach Casino – is the only casino in the world where players may be barefoot. The dealers too may be barefoot, but they always wear black ties. Curaçao has six casinos, all of which are in resort hotels and are located on beaches or next to the harbor.
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