On February 28th, the Palm Beach Casino will be closing, along with the entire Westin Hotel. The Riu, which is adjacent to the Westin, bought out the Westin Hotel and will be closing it for renovations, and possibly reconstruction. The Riu has not said whether the hotel will have a casino in it. Presumably, the hotel will be made to look like the Riu, which looks nothing like anything else on the island and not much like it belongs on a Caribbean island and incorporated into the Riu. There is also talk of an empty lot next to the Westin which may also be part of the deal. What happens next has not been made public, but the Palm Beach will definitely be closing.

The Palm Beach casino opened in 2010, after the long running Casablanca was shut down due to poor casino management.

Michael Siskin