Aussie gaming company Silver Heritage Group has disclosed the names of executives who will oversee its Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa in Nepal, located near the country’s border with Uttar Pradesh in India.
Kevin Willcocks has been named casino general manager, according to a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange. Willcocks joined Silver Heritage in November and will report to the group’s head of casino operations, Paul Simmons.
Willcocks has more than 30 years of casino operations experience in the Australian, Asian and European markets, the company said, most recently in the Indian state of Goa.
Silver Heritage also announced that it has appointed Brett Model as the general manager of the hotel at the property effective March 1. Model will report directly to Silver Heritage’s chief executive, Mike Bolsover.
According to a report in GGRAsia, Model has 15 years of hotel and casino resort experience in Asia and has worked in China, Macau, Vietnam and the United States. He was most recently director of hotel operations at the Golden Nugget Lake Charles Hotel and Casino in Louisiana.
Meanwhile, the company has denied a report by Nepalese news outlet My Republica claiming the company employed five foreign senior management staff illegally at Tiger Palace. Silver Heritage Managing Director and CEO Mike Bolsover told Inside Asian Gaming that the report was groundless.
“All of the employees mentioned in the press report appearing in Nepal in fact hold valid business visas and some unique roles can only at this time be filled with foreign workers due to their relevant skill set and global experience,” said Bolsover, adding, “The legal status of our expatriate employees is correct.”
My Republica quoted one of Silver Heritage Group’s local partners, Rajendra Bajgain, who said the company did not secure work permits for its senior staff and claimed the immigration department was investigating the matter.
Silver Heritage responded with a statement saying, “This unauthorized disclosure, in addition to various other breaches of the local partner’s consultancy agreement, has led to sanctions being imposed by the company on Mr. Bajgain, including but not limited to the potential termination of his consultancy agreement.”
Silver Heritage said last month that Tiger Palace Resort will have a “grand opening” celebration event on March 16. The casino opened December 28 with 44 gaming tables and 216 electronic gaming machines. A soft opening of the property’s 100-room hotel was held September 20.
