Paraguay, perhaps the most remote country in South America, is a landlocked country surrounded by Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil. It is a founding member of the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR). The other members of MERCOSUR are Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The four countries of MERCOSUR have eliminated import tariffs and have a free exchange of goods, services, capital, and labor. Paraguay has about 5.5 million inhabitants residing in an area of about 157 thousand square miles.
Paraguay permits almost all forms of gambling, including horse racing, lotteries, cockfighting, bingo games and casinos. Casinos have been located in all the major urban areas of the country: Asuncon, Ciudad del Este, and Pedro Juan Caballero (Greater Asuncon area). Paraguay also has small gaming casinos operated by local owners holding government licenses. With the exception of the operations in Asuncon, the capital of Paraguay, the casinos are very small. The Ita Ramada was the leading facility prior to the overthrow of Pres. Alfredo Stroessner in 1989. Soon afterward it became overshadowed by the casino at the Asuncon Yacht Club.
Casino gambling began under the regulation of the national government in 1943 when a casino opened in a hotel in downtown Asuncion. The casino owner, Sr. Valentino, formed a corporation that later developed the Ita Enramada Hotel and Casino resort complex on the Paraguay River in suburban Asuncon. The casino relocated to the Ita Enramada facility in 1975.
The Asuncon casino operated under a long-term concession granted by the government of President Stroessner. Valentino’s wife, Dora Valentino, maintained operations after his death. She also owned the casino at Ciudad Puerto Presidente Stroessner (now Ciudad del Este), the Paraguayan border city near Iguazu Falls, the Brazilian city of Iguazu Falls, and the Argentinian city of Port Iguazu (which has a casino). The Valentino company also held concessions to operate a weekly national lottery game, a quinela game, and bingo in Asuncon. The Catholic University has operated the sports pool (PROBE), and horse-race betting has been under the control of other private operators. Small casinos in other communities have been operated by local owners holding government concessions.
The Valentino company’s monopoly over major gaming activities received a serious setback after President Stroessner was deposed in February 1989. Dora Valentino’s concession for the casino at the Hotel Acaray in Ciudad del Este expired. Unexpectedly, it was not renewed, and the concession was awarded to a group of Brazilian businessmen. They moved the casino to the Club Rio Del Este in downtown Ciudad del Este. That casino closed. The Acaray Palace Hotel and Casino is again open, but under new owners who also operate the Amambay Suites Hotel across the street from the Acaray.
Dora Valentino began constructing a $30 million, 250-room resort hotel just north of the city near a proposed major international airport. The foundation and shell of what could have become the largest hotel in the nation was built. Intentions were to move the casino to the facility. Construction halted, however, when casino plans stalled. The government had given only one casino concession for each region. Obtaining another concession in Ciudad del Este proved a difficult process. As the new hotel is technically outside the city and within the Hernandez region, Dora Valentino has claimed that the area is eligible for a second casino.
While the Valentino company argued for a second casino in the Ciudad del Este area its competitors won the right to have a second and third casino (besides the Ita Enramada Casino) in Asuncon. Another casino is at the Asuncon Yacht Club (the Paraguayan Hotel and Casino and Yacht and Golf Club). The Asuncon Yacht Club Casino has outclassed the Ita Enramada Casino. The Ita Enramada Casino is eight miles downriver from downtown Asuncon on the Paraguyan River. The Asuncon Yacht Club Casino is also on the Paraguyan River about four miles downriver from downtown Asuncon. Concessions for the casinos were extended in 1995.
Besides the casinos at Asuncon and Ciudad del Este, the cities of San Bernardino and Pedro Juan Caballero have casinos. The San Bernardino Hotel and Casino is in San Bernardino on Lake Ypacarai. The La Siesta Hotel and Casino is in Pedro Juan Caballero, a city on the Brazilian border, opposite the City of Ponta Pora, Brazil. The Amambay Casino is on the outskirts of Pedro Juan Caballero, and the La Siesta Casino is in the downtown area of the city. In addition, there is a bingo casino in the city of Encarnaci-n, which is in southern Paraguay on the Argentina border, opposite Posadas, Argentina.
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