Summary of Development
WHAT JACOBS ENTERTAINMENT IS PROPOSING
Their June 2026 "Central Eleuthera Development Update," in plain language
In June 2026, Jacobs Entertainment, Inc. (JEI) — the Nevada casino company
behind the proposed Governor's Harbour development — released a written
"Central Eleuthera Development Update." It is written in the language of
investors and government deal-making, which can make it hard to follow.
We've translated it below, section by section, into plain English so anyone
can understand what is on the table. We've stayed close to what the document
actually says, and added a short "What this means" note where the polished
wording glosses over something important.
THE PLAN IN ONE PARAGRAPH
JEI wants to pay for new roads, water, and power in Central Eleuthera by
selling hundreds of luxury home lots along our Atlantic beaches. To make that
work, they want the government to help open the airport terminal, help acquire
land and road rights-of-way (including from private landowners), and enter a
formal partnership. In exchange, JEI would lend the government money
interest-free and put a small percentage of lot sales toward public
infrastructure and some affordable housing. Instead of one big casino, they now
propose several smaller gaming rooms attached to their resorts and areas around Eleuthera.
1. THE AIRPORT ("CURB APPEAL")
What they say: JEI wants to work with the government and its airport partner to
open the international terminal and pave the parking lot by summer 2027. They
openly call this "curb appeal" — dressing up the airport before they bring
investors and buyers to the island for the 2027-2028 season. They'd place a
sales booth in the terminal and pay the government $1 million up front for the
right to keep it there for 20 years. They also say they'll work to attract
direct flights from three or four new U.S. cities.
What this means: The airport upgrade is aimed first at selling real estate to
outside buyers, not simply at serving residents. The $1 million buys JEI a
two-decade sales spot inside a public terminal.
2. HOW JEI WILL PAY FOR IT (THEIR "REFINANCE")
What they say: In 2027-2028, JEI plans to refinance its company debt. They'll
add wording that lets them officially spend that money on Eleuthera, which opens
the door to large institutional lenders — including U.S. pension funds and
insurance companies. This would also let them make $25-$50 million in
interest-free loans to a partnership with the Bahamian government.
What this means: The whole project depends on JEI's future financing going
through. The money for public infrastructure is not in the bank today — it is
tied to a refinance that has not happened yet.
3. THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP)
What they say: JEI wants a formal partnership with the government to upgrade
roads, power, and water. Their exact phrase for how they'll fund it is by
"harvesting the tremendous value entrenched along Central Eleuthera's Atlantic
beachfronts." In plain terms, that means selling beachfront home lots. They
point specifically to JEI's 175 acres near the airport and the government's
100-plus acres at Navy Beach, and note a neighbor to the north might also sell.
They promise that 10% of lot sales would go toward roads, the community pathway,
and water and power systems, and another 5% toward affordable-housing rentals.
Those sales would repay the up-to-$50 million interest-free loan starting in
2028.
What this means: The heart of the plan is turning public crown land and private land beachfront
into private residential lots. The public benefits are funded as a percentage of
those sales — so the more beachfront is sold and built on, the more money there
is. Note that only 15% of lot-sale proceeds are earmarked for public roads,
utilities, and housing; the other 85% is not.
4. ROADS AND PATHWAYS
What they say: JEI proposes several new roads and a "community pathway":
- An Alexander Boulevard loop and pathway so north-south traffic can bypass
the town of Governor's Harbour.
- A southern connector between Queen's Highway and Banks Road, beside a planned
100-acre solar farm. This road would also let JEI dig up land and truck it to
their projects through banks and old banks road to north of town without driving through Governor's Harbour.
-A cell company is interested in putting up a tower here.
- A northern connector between Old Banks Road and Queen's Highway.
- Extensions of the community pathway and a "Great Bahama Bank Scenic Drive,"
which they model on the 17-Mile Drive at Pebble Beach in California.
They note the government would need to acquire several parcels of land and road
easements from private landowners, including part of the Lloyd estate south of
the airport. Some neighbors want the Alexander Boulevard extension removed.
Most of these roads are only 30 feet wide (Queen's Highway is 50), so they may
need speed bumps or limits on golf carts.
What this means: Building this road network requires taking or buying land and
road rights from private owners — the document says the government would do
this. One of the new roads doubles as a construction and excavation haul route next many current
private residences and businesses along old banks road and banks road.
5. POWER
What they say: JEI would build two private water-and-power systems for its
resorts and the new Eleuthera Club development, aiming for 90% solar. This
includes a 100-plus-acre solar farm on Pyfrom family land near the Queen's
Highway / Banks Road connector, sized to power future resorts running south
along the Atlantic. Money from selling Atlantic oceanfront lots would pay to
improve public roads and to dig the trenches for these power and water lines.
What this means: The power and water grids are private and built primarily for
JEI's resorts and homes. Large tracts of land — well over 100 acres — would be
converted into solar farms.
6. WATER
What they say: JEI would build a water plant near Governor's Harbour and a
second solar project on the Eleuthera Club property, including a 10-acre solar
farm to help run the government's existing water facility there.
What this means: Some of this could support the public water supply, but the
main purpose is serving the new development.
7. BEACHES AND RESTAURANTS
What they say: JEI promises two public beach-access points on French Leave
Beach and several public restaurants on both the Atlantic and the Bank sides of
the island. One restaurant and beach access would sit at the north end of
French Leave Beach.
What this means: These are the most direct public benefits offered. The things
to watch: how "public" that access really is once it runs through private
resort land, and whether the free access residents already have is protected.
8. GAMING (THE CASINO QUESTION)
What they say: JEI now says it will NOT build one full-size 10,000-square-foot
casino in Eleuthera. Instead, it proposes several smaller "gaming salons"
attached to its different resorts. They also want to discuss online/offshore
wagering and a "tourist route model" they say could bring revenue to the
government.
What this means: The plan has shifted from one big casino to several smaller
gambling rooms spread across the resorts. Gambling is still part of the project
— it has been spread out, not taken away.
Based on his public track record,
Jacobs has no demonstrated experience with luxury residential or resort projects.
A gaming component may be central to the proposal. His financials may be hanging on the
gaming component alone.
Given that, it's reasonable for the Government to ask hard questions about the financing
plan, project feasibility, and whether the development is
able to materialize only if he has any gaming component.
9. WHAT IS ACTUALLY BEING BUILT (FROM THEIR OWN MAPS)
The update includes site plans that show the scale:
- Eleuthera Club & Residences: about 115 home lots, plus a 70-acre solar farm.
- Eleuthera Club Estates: about 104 more lots (roughly 64 + 40) along the
Atlantic, with Old Banks Road relocated and a scenic loop added.
- Governor's Harbour master plan: the "J Resort" and marina, J Resort
residences, 78 acres of commercial development, a 119-acre eco-resort, and a
104-acre solar farm.
What this means: Taken together, the maps show roughly 200 or more luxury lots
along the Atlantic coast, plus resorts, a marina, commercial zones, and well
over 100 acres of solar farms. This is a large-scale reshaping of Central
Eleuthera — not a single hotel.
THE BOTTOM LINE
In their own words, JEI's strategy is "to sell Atlantic oceanfront residential
lots... using a percentage of the proceeds to improve certain public
improvements." Everything else — the airport work, the roads, the power and
water, the beach access — is built around, and paid for by, selling our
beachfront. That is the core trade being proposed, and it is the part worth
reading most closely.