St. Martin is an island in the North Leeward Islands of the West Indies. The area is a shared dependency of France and the Netherlands, with the Dutch referring to their holding as Sint Maarten. Along with other tropical amenities the island offers casinos on both national sides. Most of the casino gaming, however, occurs on the Dutch side. Casinos are found in the town of Philipsburg at the Cupecoy Beach Resort, the Holland House Bay Beach Hotel, and the Maho Beach Hotel. The largest casino is at the Mullet Bay Beach Hotel. Renovated in 1984, it offers 9,000 square feet of gaming space. The other casinos each have approximately 5,000 square feet per casino.
During the season the Mullet Bay facility is extremely crowded. Players often have to wait in line in order to get a seat at one of the 26 tables (19 blackjack, 3 craps, 3 roulette, and 1 big six wheel). Additionally, there are 265 slots in the facility, which is patterned after a Las Vegas-style casino. Junket activity to St. Martin’s is restricted, as operators seem not to have the capital necessary to accommodate big high rollers. Limits are too low. Attempts to entice the high rollers with appeals suggesting that they could avoid tax-reporting requirements on the island were not too successful. The majority of gamers remain hotel guests on both sides of the island. Local residents are allowed to gamble but not on a regular basis. The gaming tax is a fixed sum paid to the government annually.
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