A Casino for Winners

By Vanessa Obioha

Anyone who walks through the revolving doors of Jacaranda casinos at Sheraton Ikeja, Lagos is a winner.  So says the tagline below the glittering letters of the casino 'Where Winners Play'. In all its glamour, the casino beholds a promise of a lifetime. Therefore, it wasn't unusual to find guests already trying their luck in the gaming house before it officially opened its grand doors for business last weekend. With the handful of optimistic dealers and variety of games to play, Jacaranda casinos upped the gaming business in Lagos.

The spectacular opening was graced by celebrities who lit the purple carpet with their smiles and attires. Familiar faces include, Chairman, Sheraton Hotels, Goodie Ibru, Chairman Lagos State Lottery Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila, MI, Shina Peller, Banky W and a host of others. The event was sponsored by Red Bull and D’usse Cognac among others. The ambience inside the casino oozed of camaraderie and luck. Familiar faces shared a hug and back-slaps while the first-timers couldn't resist the urge to try their luck. Moreover, the design of the casino exudes luxury and class. Purple coloured carpets, beautiful decor, exquisite lighting, reflective glasses, tv screens, music and well air-conditioned to trap in the mass of smoke from burning cigars.  There is a wide range of tables to play. From the black jack to the roulette tables. There is also the roulette machine with 29 games.  Players have the options to play either the virtual wheel or the real wheel and can play as low as $1. For the tables, gamers can play as low as  $5  on the roulette while the black jack can be played for $2. All transactions are done in dollars and the exchange rate is N200 to $1. There are also slot machines with different games to play like 'Wild Tree', 'Let's go fishin' and others.In the VIP section is a reserved billiard table for the Ibrus and friends. This section of the casino is spacious and have the Texas Hold'Em table.   As a bonus, beautiful damsels are on ground to keep the gamers company.

A prominent name in the gaming business, the Lagos opening adds to Jacaranda's  growing list of casinos in the country.  With branches in Abuja, Owerri and Port-Harcourt, the Lagos outlet introduces a better nightlife to its environs. Its choice of location on the mainland testifies to the good business relationship the management has with the Ibru family. Its Abuja branch is also situated at Sheraton Hotels.However, the management plans to have more than one casino in Lagos too. But this will take time according to one of the directors Yahaya Maikori. He explained that the negative perception about casinos in Nigeria is a major problem. Adding to this is the issue of regulations and tax, issuing of licence,  security challenges but he is positive that now they are familiar with the ropes of the business, it will be easy to surmount these challenges.
Jacaranda casino is the product of boredom according to the Group Managing Director, John Storey. The businessman had been coming to Nigeria since 2003 and was bored to death due to  lack of nightlife. "When we first came here, we found out that hotels were pretty boring back then. There wasn't much entertainment in the hotel I used to stay. We travelled around Nigeria and we thought of providing more nightlife." he said.

By 2007, he had established the Jacaranda casino, introducing a new lifestyle to Nigerians. Besides the entertainment angle it provides, Storey through his business provides job creation for Nigerians. A total number of 150 Nigerians are employed in its Lagos outlet. At the moment, Yahaya Maikori is the only Nigerian on the board of directors.
But the casino is not the only business Storey has in Nigeria, he is also the founder of ARM Pension and Estate Management.

Bearing in mind that the casino business was at infancy when he started out and even now, the gaming culture is still unfamiliar with Nigeria, Storey has taken precautionary steps to educate gamers on the etiquettes of his casinos."We have standard set of rules for each game. It is also important that we are aware of fraud and money-laundering laws. So we are very involved in it. Every customer has to be registered in terms of Nigeria anti-money laundering laws and the EFCC rules. We provide information to EFCC all the time, they want to know if it is run properly and if the money is legitimate. We need to be careful about that. We have cameras all around, it's monitored all the time. The cameras are on 24/7. We keep weeks of data of the operations here. Everyone's picture is captured so that we can know our customers and who they are."

Maikori added that responsible gambling is the main objective of the casino. "First, it is an entertainment place and then the gaming. But when you abuse that privilege, there is a consequence. We are also concerned about the welfare of the players as well."
Albeit,  Maikori is optimistic that the opening of Jacaranda casino in Lagos will be a game changer.
“We have a huge gaming culture in this country, it’s just that we are being private about it. We are bringing an international standardised facility that is comparable to any other facility outside the country. We are bringing a facility that Nigerians will be proud of, that they will be able to spend time in and enjoy themselves. It is our hope that we will open a big business, employ more Nigerians and list Jacaranda in the Nigerian Stock Exchange sooner
than later,” he added.