In Vladivostok, Summit Ascent, owners of the Tigre de Cristal casino, reported a net loss for October 8 through December 31, 2015 due to pre-opening expenses. However, the casino posted positive earnings through February. During that period, visitors were 50 percent Asian, while in February, with temperatures of 10 degrees Fahrenheit, 84 percent of visitors were local. AS spring arrives, visitors are expected to include more Chinese customers.
The VIP segment launched on November 11 and rolling chip volume has increased sequentially in every month from November to February. The average VIP win rate has been 4.4 percent between November and February over 8-10 tables. Average rebates pad on VIP to the casino’s casual junkets have been similar to the typical Macau commission rate of 45 percent of GGR. Company officials said they plan to offer a more traditional fixed-room, name-brand junket business starting in May.
In other news out of Russia, officials at Altai Palace Casino, the primary investors in the country’s Siberian Coin gaming zone, said they plan to invest in the Crimean gaming zone when it launches, possibly this summer. Sergey Aksyonov, head of the Crimea gaming zone, said authorities there only would work with investors involved in “the Russian legal field.”
In addition, the Altai officials said they will open another casino in Siberian Coin in 2018, providing Russia does not raise its gaming tax by a factor of 10 times, as national business media previously reported.
