Just last night, officials of the Baha Mar mega-resort released a statement that confirmed the new destination would not be opening this Friday and instead push back the opening until sometime in “early May”. The $3.5 billion Bahamas property has been under construction and after an initial planned opening for late 2014,  was set to open on March 27th. Officials are now citing issues with the lead contractor contributing to the push back in opening. Some hotels are open and others are accepting reservations but no gaming is available at the property as of today.

On February 12, the Crystal Palace Casino closed in anticipation of the new resort opening soon.

In the statement, the resort has criticized the lead contractor stating that the work completed at the casino did not meet the ‘standards of excellence’ required by the Baha Mar. The resort also revealed they were reliant on the information provided by the lead contractor and the construction manager when creating the late March opening date.

Obie Wilchcombe, the Minister of Tourism, commented that the high expectations of the property must not be compromised. The delay comes at the dismay of stakeholders as they are ready to show off the new resort and as Wilchombe put it ‘wow the world’.