Primorye still waits for casino plots bid

The company that launched three independent auctions for land in the province said that it’s still waiting for bids.

Russia.- Primorsky Krai Development Corp revealed that no official bids for plots earmarked for the development of casinos in the Primorye area have been made yet. The Russian gambling hub is located near Vladivostok.

The company launched in July the independent auctions for the three casinos in the region and initially set the deadline for August 28 to present four to five stars casino and hotel projects, which would require a minimum investment of US$120 million to US$300 million. Nevertheless, the date was pushed back last month to September 28, as the governmental company didn’t receive bids.

“We have not received applications yet [for the land auctions] but our headquarters are staying in touch with investors and companies,” said a spokesperson of Primorsky Krai Development to GGRAsia on Monday, three days before the deadline. Representatives of the company were expected to meet yesterday with executives from another Russian company that showed interest in participating in the auction, but no further details were disclosed.

Moreover, Russia’s far east gaming zone is attempting to increase its appeal by building a race track that would attract race betting tourism. State-owned Development Corporation of the Primorsky Territory informed that Primorsky Hippodrome JSC has been granted with resident status and will partner Russian Hippodromes JSC in order to develop the project. The “multi-purpose investment project,” as they called it, has an estimated total price of US$41.5 million and includes two racing tracks, a 250-room hotel and other entertainment options. Plans are set to be finished and introduced by early 2018 and construction will be completed by 2020, with the development being launched in May 2021.

Primorye is set to become a leading gaming destination in the Asia-Pacific Casino market and is developing several projects at the moment, with G1 Entertainment’s Tigre de Cristal being the only casino operating so far. Naga Vladivostok, the area’s second gaming venue, is also set to open just by the time that Tigre de Cristal’s Phase II gets completed.