Howard 'Butch' Kerzner Dies in Helicopter Crash

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. October 14, 2008

Howard 'Butch' Kerzner, one of the world's most powerful casino executives, has been killed in a helicopter crash in the Dominican Republic.

Mr Kerzner, 42, was chief executive of Kerzner International, the casino group founded and built up by his father, Sol Kerzner, who is the group's chairman and who was today headed to the Caribbean island state.

Two pilots, both members of the Dominican Republic's armed forces, were killed when the Robinson 44 helicopter crashed onto the roof of a building in the popular tourist resort of Sosua on the country's north coast yesterday afternoon.

Another man, named as Delio Luis Gonzalez and identified as the son of a US-based real estate investor, was also killed in the crash, which happened as the men were surveying possible development sites. A commission has been set up to investigate the crash.

Mr Kerzner was born and brought up in South Africa, where his father built a casino empire in the Apartheid-era black homelands that included the famous Sun City resort. He had an MBA from Stanford University in the United States and was married with two children.

Mr Kerzner and his father recently led a $3.8 billion (lb2.04 billion) buyout of the company, which they have been trying to expand aggressively around the world.

Kerzner International has stakes in five resorts in Mauritius, one in Mexico and manages a resort in Dubai. It developed and owns nearly 70 per cent of the Bahamas' Paradise Island, where it operates the 2,300-room Atlantis casino resort.

Kerzner International said in a statement: "It is with great sadness that the entire company mourns the tragic loss of Butch Kerzner."

The company said that Paul O'Neil, the former president and managing director of Kerzner International, has been named as chief executive and plans to bid for a casino license in Sentosa, Singapore, would not be affected.

Kerzner International has teamed with Singapore's CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's biggest property group, for the Sentosa bid. A team from Genting International-Star Cruises, part of Malaysian casino operator Genting Group, has also bid for the project.

The third contender is a partnership between Las Vegas firm Eighth Wonder, Australia's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd and Hong Kong's Melco International Development Limited, and Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. A winner is to be announced by the end of the year.

The company also has an agreement with the owners of the Millennium Dome to run Britain's first super-casino if Greenwich Council wins the bidding contest to host it - although the Government has said that any deal must be open to free and fair competition.

In the Bahamas, where the company's flagship Atlantis resort is the second-largest employer behind the government, Perry Christie, the Prime Minister, said that it was "a sad moment for our nation".

Kerzner International developed and owns nearly 70 per cent of the Bahamas' Paradise Island, home to its 2,300-room Atlantis casino resort, which includes a man-made marine habitat and 60 acres of pools.

"Our only comfort is the certain knowledge we have that Butch's work in the Bahamas will continue on pace and that his vision for Atlantis and for Bahamian tourism will be brought to fruition," Mr Christie told a press conference last night.