NagaCorp said it expects to begin construction of its US$350 million casino near Vladivostok early next year and have the doors open by 2018.
The Hong Kong-listed company (HKSE: 3918), Cambodia’s largest operator with a monopoly in the Phnom Penh market, is joining a casino development group controlled by Macau casino tycoon Lawrence Ho in exploiting the potential of Russia’s Pacific coast as a destination for gamblers from northeast China, South Korea and Japan.
The region, known as Primorye, is one of four outlying regions designated by the Russian government for casino gambling, and Chairman Tim McNally said, “The Russian government has been working closely with us on issues such as visa upon arrivals from the airport and approvals on land permits.”
The December appointment of former Sands China executive Mark Brown as chief operating officer is expected also to result in a more aggressive push to attract mainland Chinese players to the company’s flagship NagaWorld resort in the Cambodian capital. Naga said it will add as many as 63 VIP gaming tables at the property by the end of the year. Earlier this month, a marketing office was opened in Macau with a view to strengthening relationships with the territory’s formidable junket industry.
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