NagaCorp lays foundation
The Primorye Territory Development Corp. has gone to court to block the development of a US$215 million casino resort called Phoenix in Russia’s Primorye economic zone, according to the Asia Gaming Brief.
The developer, Royal Time Primorye, has failed to meet construction guidelines, reported AGB. Parent company the Royal Time Group has stakes in four Russian economic zones: Azov-Citi, Yantarnaya, and Siberian Coin as well as Primorye. The court filing was made on April 5 in the regional arbitration court.
Primorsky Territory Vice Governor Evgeny Polyansky has warned that residents of the economic zone who fail to meet their construction deadline will face penalties and possible termination of their contracts.
According to Vostok-Media, Polyansky also scolded Diamond Fortunes Holding for the “unsatisfactory pace of construction” on its Selena gaming facility, the first stage of which is required to be completed by 2019.
At the same time, Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp is preparing to lay the foundation of its Mayak entertainment complex in the economic zone. “The active phase of the construction began in April as it was planned earlier,” said Andrei Folomeev, a director general of Primorye Territory Development Corp. “As of now, the second phase of excavation is underway, namely, filling of the land lot. According to the investor, about 300 workers and several dozen units of construction equipment will be engaged at the site throughout the entire construction period. Upon receiving annual quotas for foreign labor, builders will be ready to begin piling works and laying the foundation for the main facility. For now the initial work will be carried out by the local contractor.”
The construction of Mayak is set to finish in the end of 2018 and its opening is expected to be held in 2019, according to the Asia Gaming Brief.
“We’re look forward to the opening of the second facility in the Primorye gaming zone and are pleased that the investor does not digress from the plan and fulfills its obligations under the investment agreement,” said Konstantin Shestakov, director of the Primorye Territory Tourism Department.
Meanwhile, a fifth investor in the Primorye gambling zone, Khayna Yunli Company, has reportedly withdrawn from its project and paid a penalty to the local development authority, Betting Business Russia reports.
“The Khayna Yunli Company paid RUB100 million in compensation for non-show at the site,” a press service stated. “It is understood that the money will be used to build infrastructure facilities in the gambling zone.”
So far, the only operating casino resort in the Primorye economic zone is Summit Ascent Holdings’ Tigre de Cristal resort, which opened in late 2015. It was recently forced to trim its inventory of gaming tables and shut down its poker rooms due to increased competition from illegal gambling operators, reports CalvinAyre.com.
In an op-ed column published in Betting Business Russia, Executive Director Craig Ballantyne of operator G1 Entertainment said illegal in the Primorye region has hurt legal operations. Tigre de Cristal, which opened with 651 slot machines, now has fewer than 400, he said. From 67 original gaming tables, it has cut back to 55, and all 10 Texas Hold ’em tables have been removed.
“Illegal gambling is widespread in Primorsky Krai,” Ballantyne wrote. “Such institutions, especially poker clubs, create a negative impact on legal business, despite all the marketing efforts undertaken by us. I note that the presence of approximately eight to nine illegal poker clubs in Vladivostok confirms the overall demand for these services.”
