By LEDEDRA MARCHE

Senior FN Reporter

Jill Hayes, director of corporate communications at Isle for Capri Casinos, said yesterday the opinion of financial analyst Justin Sebastiano that they should pull out of The Bahamas is simply his opinion.

"That is his opinion and it is not a public statement from Isle of Capri," Hayes insisted.

Sebastiano's comments were reported by the Asso-ciated Press on Monday when it was also reported that the shares of Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. dropped that day, after he said that the casino operator faces strong competition in most of its markets and should exit its international operations.

The Freeport News contacted Al Johnson, Isle of Capri Director of Human Resources and Community Affairs in Grand Bahama, for comment on the company's intention regarding Sebastiano's advice and he said that he was not aware of the article.

Johnson, however, directed us to Hayes at their corporate office in Biloxi, Mississippi. She also was not familiar with the article but was knowledgeable about Sebastiano, who is vice president in equity research for Morgan Joseph and Co. Investment.

The Isle of Capri Grand Bahama property faced several months of uncertainty after executives from Isle of Capri corporate office in Biloxi, Mississippi, announced in December 2006 they would be ceasing operations here by June 2007.

This announcement came after the company had suffered a devastating blow as a direct result of two back-to-back hurricanes in 2004.

The company continued to pay full salaries to all of its employees while the casino was closed as a result of damages caused by the storm.

However, a drastic decrease in the net profit between the 2004 and 2005 fiscal year was also cited as Isle of Capri's reason it downsized.

Isle of Capri had requested the government's assistance in granting several concessions as well as helping with marketing and overseas advertisement so it could get out of its economic slump.

The gambling property then began advertising early last year that it was looking for suitable candidates to fill positions at its Lucaya property such as payroll clerk, income auditor, operations analyst and utility porter.

Then in April Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe confirmed that the government was to meet with executives of the Isle of Capri in Mississippi to complete negotiations to have the casino continue its operations in Freeport.

By May 2007, both parties had reached a new agreement that would reportedly make the property financially more attractive from an operational standpoint.