Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd. reopened its Tigre De Cristal casino resort on Russia’s Black Sea on July 14, after getting the all-clear from the government of Primorsky Krai.
According to Inside Asian Gaming, an expansion of the facility will continue as people get back to work. When complete, it will include a new Suncity VIP room, Korean and Chinese restaurants and 30 new hotel rooms.
Suncity Group became the largest single shareholder in Summit Ascent after acquiring a 24.74 percent stake in 2019, and is currently in the process of increasing its stake to almost 70 percent.
The usual safety precautions will be in place: mandatory face masks for all employees and guests, temperature checks at entrances, social distancing on gaming floors and limited seating capacity at restaurants and bars.
“As borders are still not yet fully opened, the group will continue to focus on the group’s strength previously—the local market,” said a filing from Summit Ascent. “Since Covid-19 started, the group has rolled out stringent cost control measures, such as offsetting unused annual leave entitlements, unpaid leaves, cutting travel expenses and renegotiating contracts with subcontractors.
“The group has been a responsible corporate citizen and has been trying its best to support the Russian government’s call to maintain local employment.” As of the reopening, Summit Ascent added, it had not laid off any employees.
In related news, Asia Gaming Brief reported that the legislative assembly in the Primorye has temporarily lowered taxes for Tigre de Cristal to help it remain viable during the Covid-19 outbreak. The regional budget is estimated to lose about 16 million rubles (about US$225,000) as a result.
Tigre de Cristal has been closed since 28 March, but continued to pay taxes on its gambling equipment of 125,000 rubles (US$1,755) per gambling table and 15,000 rubles (US$200) per slot machine. The temporary lower tax provides some relief, with the table tax reduced to 50,000 rubles (US$700) and the slot tax lowered to 3,000 rubles (US$42). The tax relief will be I effect until October, by which time authorities expect tourism to rebound by 30 percent.
