Ups and downs for international company
Casinos Austria International has opened its €2.5 million (US$2.7 million) resort in Batumi, a Black Sea port city in the republic of Georgia. CAI Director General Karl Stoss said the firm is “in the fortunate position of having been able to enter this market early with strong partners.”
“We have had to work tirelessly in recent years to consolidate our business and address legacy issues,” he continued. “It is a good feeling to be taking the lead again and to be starting something new.”
Alexander Tucek, CAI CEO, said: “We were approached about three years ago by a group of investors. Our analysis quickly confirmed the strong potential, and so we accepted the offer and grasped the opportunity.”
Casino International is located inside the Hilton Hotel in Batumi.
In a January 2015 statement about the company, Stoss said Casinos Austria increased year-on-year revenues at its 12 domestic casinos by 2.5 percent in 2014. He said visitation was up 6.5 percent; VLT operations increased 15 percent; and domestic lottery results were up 2 percent.
He said the company is doing well despite some headwinds, including a license revocation in Argentina. That matter has been referred to the arbitration court of the World Bank in Washington, reported the website. Casinos Austria is seeking US$250 million in damages in the suit.
G2newswire.com reported that CAI also lost a lottery operation in the republic of Bashkortostan in July 2014, when Russia eliminated privately held lotteries. But the company is growing elsewhere, launching a VLT operation in Macedonia and signing a management contract for a casino near the Greek border. Meanwhile, it is also hoping to sell its Australian assets to Hong Kong investor Tony Fung.
