It seems rather obvious that what I have predicted since last March -- as the U.S. journalist who broke the story at Hotel News Now that the alleged March 27 opening was in effect a hoax -- is coming true. The Chinese are in the driver's seat based on the use of the land as security for China's $2.5 billion loan. In addition, Izmirlian and his grossly imcompetent "management team" totally alienated China by blaming all of the problems on China and taking no responsibility themselves. That was their fatal move, or in effect act of suicide. Now, China is about to extract its punishment very publicly. My bet is that once the actual liquidation process begins, the Chinese will be first in line to cut a deal and find a new operating partner to run/manage the place. The question is how easy that will be given that from a PR perspective, the "Baha Mar" brand has been destroyed. No expert I talk to thinks it will ever open as "Baha Mar," but under a new name -- and possibly broken up into four individually owned and operated hotels on the same "resort campus." I guess we'll know fairly soon.

I wonder how all the Bahamian subcontractors who got burned for a lot of money feel about the fact they ever got the work. It appears that for many, an apparent blessing has become a curse. And to this day, Izmirlian has never apologized to them, or the thousands of booked consumers who also got burned. He should be ashamed of himself. But he obviously is not. He is just an arrogant fool, who is about to get his comeuppance one way or the other.

It makes perfect sense that the Bahamian government and CCA and then ExIm Bank of China would cooperate to thwart the incompetence and deceit of Izmirlian and his "management team." Not only will they go down as the architects of the biggest disaster in the history of the hotel industry, but they might have destroyed the Bahamian economy as well (just today the country's credit rating was downgraded as a result of Baha Mar's failure). Izmirlian and his cast of liars and fools must be ousted for there to be any realistic chance the resort will ever open -- under a new name. The "Baha Mar" brand has been destroyed beyond repair. And that is not the fault of the government or China. It is 100% Izmirlian's fault.

It's not a "conspiracy" that the government is working with China to get Baha Mar completed and opened. It's the result of the fact that Izmirlian and his incompetent "management team" totally bungled the project and went broke -- then blamed China and the Bahamian government. And since the bankruptcy filing, Izmirlian has alienated all of this "partners." He's about to get what he deserves, which is worldwide humiliation. I just hope that for the good of the Bahamas and the Bahamian people, Baha Mar can be opened and saved from failure.

Arbitration is a ridiculous idea in this case. Arbitration cannot solve insolvency or force any of the parties to sign on to a business deal that is not in their perceived best interest, This is not a dispute, it's a bankruptcy proceeding. Gomez was right to reject the idea.

TR: Quite incredibly, the U.S. court issued an order yesterday that BEC cannot turn off the power or demand any payments from Baha Mar based on the bankruptcy filing. That is a direct attack by the U.S. court on the sovereignty of the Bahamas. I am surprised no local media has reported that.

The Chinese bank is not an equity partner. They are the lender of 2/3 of the project cost. They have a secured loan. That is the whole point.

I know you can think. I have great respect for your country and culture. My issue has simply been the deceit and gross incompetence of Izmirlian. I have no right to comment on or indulge in your politics. But certainly, politics have played a role in the Baha Mar drama.

Banker: Unfortunately, I think all three sides bear some of the blame for what has happened. But to me, the bottom line fact is that Izmirlian was in way over his head from the start. And he has made very poor decisions since the delays of last December and March. In addition, the issue has been politicized by the parties there, all looking for advantage at the voting box. It's just sad all around. But for there to be a solution, based on my knowledge, I think Izmirlian has to go. As for why I am so emotionally invested, I love the Bahamas and have visited there and written about your country for 30 years. The real disaster here is the squandered hopes of the several thousand people who thought they had good jobs -- and especially those who left jobs to work at Baha Mar. Those are the people I want to see treated well, along with the Bahamian contractors and other local businesses that Izmirlian burned.

The reason China ExIm Bank made the gigantic investment was so that Baha Mar could be its "crown jewel" for its massive ambitions in the Western Hemisphere and a catalyst for billions of dollars in new work -- including throughout the Caribbean. Does Izmirlian really believe that ExIm Bank will allow him to fire and blame CCA for Baha Mar's problems? If so, he is delusional. China holds all of the cards now.l Izmirlian has none. End of story. End of Izmirlian.