Vladivostok Plans for a New Casino
Vladivostok Port
The major Russian gambling investor Shambala CJSC recently revealed its plans to construct one of the largest casinos in Russia. The 172,200 sq ft combined casino and resort is going to be located in the port city of Vladivostok. The company has reportedly invested about $128.6 million for the gambling facilities. Shambala as of today operates the Shambala Casino in the Azov-City gaming zone based in Krasnodar Krai.
According to recent reports, Shambala won the rights to casino in Vladivostok after winning the rights in an auction conducted by the government-owned Primorsky Krai Development Corporation. The auction was held for two parcels of land with a combined size of 34.5 acres. The owner of Shambala CJSC, Maxim Smolentsev, has already started the design work for the facilities which will be wrapped up by September this year. The new casino plus luxury resort boasts of being a 270 room, 5-star hotel with a game room comprising of about 500 slots and more than 50 gaming tables. Maxim later revealed that this was the company’s most ambitious project yet. Their aim with this casino resort is to not only attract the regular players but also make it enjoyable for their families.
The 2009 federal legislation in Russia, established five separated and unique locations as legal gambling areas. The Hong Kong-based Summit Ascent Holdings Limited was the first organization to start a casino hotel, the $144 million Tigre De Cristal, located 31 miles north of Vladivostok. In May 2018 NagaCorp, a Cambodian company began the construction of its Naga Vladivostok development project. The Russian casino operator Diamond Fortune Holdings will be inaugurating the first phase of they’re $900 million Selena World Resort and Casino in 2019. The general director of Primorsky Krai Development Corporation, Igor Trofimov later added: “It is important to understand that our main task is to create an integrated entertainment resort area, which implies not only the development of gambling and hotels but also the full development of the entertainment sector.”
However everything is not set for Shambala, the Vice-Governor of Primorye Yevgeny Polyansky has recommended a few changes in the proposal calling for more entertainment and family-friendly features. His prime focus is on selling the location as an attractive tourist destination and not just a gambling hub. Shambala is not stopping with Vladivostok. It plans to expand its gaming zones into Crimea with the aim of transforming the location into one of Russia’s biggest casino attraction.
