Focusing on Indo-Nepal border
Tiger Palace Resort, on Nepal’s border with India, opened its casino operations in December, but did not mark its official grand opening until March 16. According to Inside Asian Gaming, the resort is located just eight kilometers from the Indian border and targets the northern Indian market.
Tim Shepherd, Silver Heritage co-founder and senior advisor, said Tiger Palace, the company’s first wholly owned and operated five-star integrated resort in Bhairahawa, “forms a major part of the Silver Heritage Group’s core growth strategy of focusing on developing casino resorts on the Indo-Nepal border and capitalizing on the strong demand from Indian customers for a wholesome entertainment destination.
“The immediate target market for the resort comprises of the more than 15 million aspirational middle-class Indian citizens living within six hours of travel from the resort, in states including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal,” he said.
To reach those customers, the resort opened with a full slate of Bollywood and Indian-themed entertainment, with décor and F&B offerings geared toward Indian tastes. The opening drew “huge crowds” and saw the hotel fully occupied, according to reports.
“The casino grand opening was a wonderful success,” said CEO Mike Bolsover. “We were overbooked both evenings of the event at the hotel, the international and local performers were well received by gaming and by non-gaming guests and in the casino we achieved several milestones including records for daily and monthly drop and for daily and monthly GGR.”
A subsequent celebration in April “will include events for the local community and attendance by national and local government officials and dignitaries,” said Bolsover.
