Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp expects to complete Phase I of its integrated resort in Russia’s Primorye casino zone by the end of 2020, the firm informed Inside Asian Gaming.
Naga Vladivostok near the Black Sea port city will include a casino, a 279-room hotel and a 21,500-square foot multi-purpose hall. Phase II, due for completion in 2022, will add a pool and water park.
The only casino resort in operation in the Primorye zone is Summit Ascent’s Tigre de Cristal, which opened in late 2015. It revealed this week that it was hoping to launch Phase II in the “summer of 2021.” According to Union Gaming, Summit Ascent has the potential to almost double its VIP business by 2020 after its second-half 2018 results topped expectations.
As reported by Asia Gaming Brief, the brokerage upgraded its rating for the operator to a “buy” on the results, which got a boost from VIP revenue and continuing growth in mass play and slots.
“We see significant upside potential with respect to the company’s VIP program on a go-forward basis,” said Union, adding that it is also likely to benefit from the cluster effect of NagaCorp’s opening.
“Upside to our expectations came from some number of returning junket agents and players who had been trialing other newer regional casinos, particularly in Korea,” the brokerage stated. “Given the superior economics Summit Ascent is able to offer junkets (Vladivostok has the lowest gaming tax regime in all of Asia), as well as political sensitivities of China/Korea, this dynamic is not surprising. We look for 2020 to experience significant growth in VIP volumes.”
