Colombia Dreams of Casino Oasis in Desert, Feasibility Questionable

Colombia may be struggling with finding enough workers for its casinos, but the country is not giving up on new projects. The latest casino aspirations of the Latin American nation include the development of a Las Vegas casino-resort oasis in a desert.

Desert Gaming Mirage in Colombia

The potential project is currently nothing but the figment of Evert Montero Cardenas, who chairs the Colombian Federation of Entrepreneurs of Games o Luck and Chance. However, seeing a Las Vegas-style resort take shape in La Guajira, a department characterized by its desert landscapes, is what Cardenas believes will give the region a new lease of life.

Cardenas wants to build an exact desert copy to Las Vegas, but there may be some logistical challenges to overcome. Even then, La Guajira department is well-connected, it would not lack people willing to invest, and the overall connection to North and South America is well-established to have travelers from far and wide come.

The main challenge though remains – money. Investment of this size would require billions and to even get talking about the project in more tangible terms, a feasibility study will have to be carried out first. But feasibility studies also cause money and that is another problem that Cardenas needs to address.

Cardenas admitted that there has been endorsement from the administration to see if it’s possible to turn La Guajira into one huge city similar to Las Vegas in the first place, citing the Nevadan city as an example of how this can be done even in harsh conditions.

Building a casino oasis in the desert is definitely not unprecedented, and it would provide Colombia with a very strong hand to play when attracting tourists from the region. While travelers to Nevada from South America aren’t that many, there could be fewer people going up north to gamble, and even more, people coming down south to enjoy a potential new project in Colombia.

Huge Potential for Latin American Gaming

Latin America is home to more than 600 million people, and land-based gambling is a popular past-time. Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina are all pushing for legislative moves to make the activity safer and more accessible. Big American brands are already investing down south as well, with Rush Street Interactive setting up a 25-year partnership in January.

However, Las Vegas had a strong start because of Mafia money going into the initial stages of development. La Guajira will not be able to play the same card. The Las Vegas sister city down south may remain an unrealized dream, but Colombia is looking into it.