The new ‘Casino of Mallorca’ in Porto Pi, after an investment of almost €9m, opened yesterday (October 3) with an inaugural cocktail-dinner party.

One of the attendees had the honour of throwing the first ball in the roulette and Balearic Govern President Jose Ramon Bauza was one of the lucky guests.

The President of the Mallorca Casino, Miguel Ortiz, said: “We are not speculators, we are here to stay and plan to invest and create employment on the island.”

Ortiz is the head of a group of international gaming companies with a strong presence in Asia where casinos are highly popular.

 Customers can choose to play one of the 70 prize machines or one of the five roulette tables, five-card tables, three texas poker tables and a game of dice.

The new 3,000 square metre casino also boasts a restaurant, a ballroom that can hold 200 people and a bar.

Opening hours will be from 4pm to 5am and there is a permanent parking service in the Porto Pi complex.

As the weather begins to cool down and the evenings get a little darker many of the seasonal workers are preparing to head home. However, if you a permanent resident on the island there are many things to enjoy through the winter months.

It is the perfect time to explore all those little spanish towns with their small ‘tascas’ serving tapas and menu del dia. And if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous why not hike up one of the many Mallorquin mountains? The Sierra de Tramuntana are a great place to start! It begins just past Andratx town and continues all the way up to Formentor, spreading through Deia, Soller and Valldemossa and includes, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful places on the island.

From the end of November until March most of the hotels in those areas are closed, leaving the mountain range peaceful and undisturbed, perfect for an afternoon stroll. The landscapes are still wild and natural and full of olive groves and asparagus!

To plan your route and get prepared for a hike visit this website.

New British food store opened in San Agustin!

Whether you are missing some home comforts as the winter approaches or are looking for a wide selection of greeting cards, head down to Arrods.

Besides from food and cards the newly fitted shop also sells a variety of gifts, boxes of chocolate and everything you need for the beach. 

It is located on Joan Miro near Jamrock Cafe and there is usually places to park right outside and most importantly it’s cheaper than Nice Price!

Stock up this winter before it all goes!

Whether you want to browse round designer shops, walk along the quays and admire the yachts or just have a nice meal, Puerto Portals is the place to go.

This exclusive marina is home to an assortment of different restaurants, including an Italian, Chinese, Spanish, a seafood specialist and many more.

You will also find the Moet and Chandon bar which is the perfect place to chill out outside and enjoy the buzzing atmosphere.

Besides from eating, drinking and shopping you can also sunbathe and swim in the crystal clear Mediterranean waters on the Portals beach. But beware if you go on a Sunday as it gets extremely busy very early on.

So there you go, everything you need in one place! Enjoy…

Spanish journalists working for La Ultima Hora in Mallorca wanted to watch the royal wedding in the company of English expats.

Over 15 journalists gathered at the home of Lorna Hamilton in Andratx to drink champagne and watch the ceremony.

“I got a phone call from a friend saying that a few journalists wanted to really experience the British sense of patriotism and watch the wedding with us. I agreed and at 9.30am 15 journalists who couldn’t speak a word of English turned up on my doorstep!” Said Mrs Hamilton.

The next day La Ultima Hora published the story  and described the wedding as “beautiful and emotional.” They also wrote that it brought the English community in Mallorca together and it was a pleasure to be part of it.

To read the full article in Spanish visit http://www.ultimahora.es/

Although Spain won freedom of expression in the 1970s during their transition to democracy, Spain’s newspapers are still censured and controlled by the government.

This is apparently due to the fact that they do not want to “scare” tourists and they believe the press in England often paints a bad picture of Spain.

After doing some digging I noticed that when the ETA bomb exploded in Mallorca in July 2009 the news actually was first made public on an English news channel. It then, almost two hours later, was shown on Spanish TV.

Alfredo Ramos, journalist in Mallorca, said: “If it wasn’t for the English newspapers I think even less would get published. The government does not want to frighten tourists but most of the time they find out the stories in the UK anyway.”

Another example is when a man was murdered last month in Magaluf. It was covered in most of the mainstream English papers the following day but it was hardly mentioned in the Spanish papers.

“The tourism industry is the only thing keeping Spain going at the moment. They don’t want to lose it by publishing exaggerated stories,” Mr Ramos added.

For more information on this click here.

The Blue Jazz Club in Palma de Mallorca’s Hotel Saratoga had a very special guest last night, guitarist Stanley Jordan.

He was promoting his latest album, ‘State of Nature,’ on which he uses some quite revolutionary techniques to play two guitars or guitar and piano, simultaneously!

 Click here to see this live video clip of his performance of Miles Davis’ All Blues, from the new album.

Jordan burst onto the Jazz scene in 1985 with the Grammy nominated gold album ‘Magic Touch” and was renamed “the touch” for his exquisite guitar playing.

The Balearic hostelry sector will stage a rally in the centre of Palma on Monday in protest against Spain’s tough anti-smoking laws.

The new law introduced is one of Europe’s toughest smoking bans that even prohibits lighting up in open spaces like children’s playgrounds and outside hospitals.

The law, similar to the law in the UK, also bans smoking from bars, restaurants and all other indoor spaces.

Fines for breaking this new law range from 30 euros (£25) to 600’000 euros (£513’800)

However hotels are permitted to reserve 30% of their rooms for smokers but hotel owners claim that this is not enough.

Pilar Carbonell, President of the Balearic Confederation of Business Association’s Restaurant Association, said yesterday that since the new restrictions were introduced, bars and restaurants have seen their trade and takings fall by between 15 and 40 percent while others have simply been forced out of business.

The protest will begin at 6pm in the Plaza Mayor and work its way down to the central government delegation just off the Borne where the hostelry sector’s demands and criticism of the new law will be read out.

For more information check out the following websites:
Daily  Bulletin and Ultima Hora (Spanish)

The Daily Bulletin reported today that residents living in the suburb Sa Gerreria are “under threat” as violent gangs are beginning to rule the area.

A statement from the president of the Neighbourhood Association claimed that residents are living in fear after a number of people have been threatened whilst walking home at night.

Palma council has proposed the idea to close down the majority of late-night establishments in Sa Gerreria in order to stop the violence and have also suggested banning “La ruta Martiana,” a Tuesday night pub crawl where the bars serve discounted drinks.

This has caused an uproar amongst the bar owners as they are struggling for business as it is.

With the longer evenings and the summer almost here the problem is expected to get worse if nothing is done about it immediately.

President of the NA said: “We are working quickly and determined to sort this out before any serious harm is done. We do not want to put the bars out of business but something needs to change.”

For the full report visit the Bulletin’s website.

A study has revealed that one in five residents living in Mallorca are foreign.

The figures by The National Statistics Institute show that as of the beginning of 2011, the Balearic population stood at 1,112,712 and a huge 22% of that are expats.

The study also commented that as quickly as British, German, Arabic, Chinese and Bulgarian people are arriving on the island, Spanish and Mallorquin residents are packing up and leaving in order to seek better job opportunities in big cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.  

This shocking report could  mean that in a few years time expats may outnumber the natives?

 Comments and opinions please!

To see the full report click here.