Back in September we featured a story on our blog about the launch of a new Russian casino zone in Vladisvostok that was aiming to attract the big money from China.
So 3 months in, how’s it going in the Russian East?
Well, it’s cold! (-16 °C today which is not for the faint-hearted).
But the new casino zone seems to be doing a brisk trade and the developers are starting to brag that the new casino zone could ‘surpass Las Vegas and even possibly Macao’. (it’s a bit early for those kinds of predictions!
The casino resort has benefited from a wave of Chinese gamblers who are only allowed to gamble in the special administrative region (SAR) of Macao – a long flight from many of the biggest Chinese mega cities.
Tigre de Cristal is the first casino to open its doors in the Primorsky Integrated Entertainment Zone (PIEZ) – and seems to be a hit with both Russian and foreign gamblers, notably players from China.
Some 80% of its early takings are from China, Japan, and South Korea, while 80% of its visitors are Russians, according to World Casino News.
Tigre-de-Cristal
There are plans for as many as 8 casinos for the PIEZ- the ambition of the zone is nothing short of overtaking Las Vegas and later Macao in revenues. Work has begun on another 3 casino complexes already.
The Tigre de Cristal Casino has been bank-rolled by Lawrence Ho, son of Macao legend and gambling tycoon Stanley Ho. His gambling investment vehicle Summit Ascent Holdings is behind the casino, which will cost £320million when it is finished.
There was a scandal at the Tigre when a heavily sedated Siberian tiger (Siberian Storm anyone)? was paraded in front of guests at the grand opening of the glitzy flagship casino.
The 5 -month-old big cat was the “star attraction”. Russian police have launched an investigation into the treatment of the tiger.
Other gambling zones in the planning stage in Russia include Sochi (venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics).
‘The Russian Far East is home to around 6 million people who live in an area larger than the European Union- the big light bulb moment came when someone realised that it is located within a two or three hour flight of hundreds of millions of Asian people, many of whom are mad on gambling.
