ASIA & OCEANIA
Silver Heritage plans to open its Tiger Palace Casino on the Nepali border to attract gaming tourists from India
NEPAL CASINO OPERATIONS Silver Heritage to open Tiger Palace in 2017
Silver Heritage is currently developing its first casino resort along the Nepali border, aimed at serving one of the largest untapped gaming markets in the world; India.
THE PHILIPPINES – The Philippines’ casino regulator has said that the market could open up further with new provincial casino licences potentially up for grabs.
Cristino Naguiat, Chairman of PAGCOR, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming, said he ‘is open to casinos built outside Manila.’
“There are areas which I think are very ripe for a casino,” Mr. Naguiat said. “The agency is open to giving out a casino license if it can help boost economic activity and if the people in the area want it. We’re developing a template to ensure that no one would be granted a license unless an investment commitment is made. The minimum investment could vary depending on the location.”
The minimum investment for foreign companies building casinos outside of Manila has been set at US$300m, less than a third of the minimum investment set for casinos in Manila’s Entertainment City of $1bn.
Mr. Naguiat added that the minimum investment for casinos outside of Manila wouldn’t be decided until PAGCOR has its new President in place in June. PAGCOR operates 13 casinos in the country, 10 of which are outside Manila. Thunderbird Resorts operates two of the biggest Philippine casinos outside of Manila with one Poro Point in the northern La Union province and another Rizal in a mountain resort near the capital.
The driver for the addition of more casinos is clearly gaming tax. The Philippines is trying to take on Macau and Singapore in the revenue stakes. GGR from Philippine casinos is being tipped to double from this year’s estimate of US$4bn by 2025 once all four projects are operating,
Mr. Naguiat added, “Gaming revenue from government-run and privately-owned properties could reach 45bn pesos and 90bn pesos, respectively, in 2016. That represents an eight per cent increase from a combined 125bn pesos last year.”
Jonathan Ravelas, Chief Market Strategist at BDO Unibank, said: “They are trying to replicate Entertainment City on a smaller scale. This will create competitors. Operators in Entertainment City will have to be on their toes because if they are complacent it’s not impossible that some of the traffic will go to these provincial casinos if the properties are world class.”
P36 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM
AUSTRALIA ClubsAct weighs in over Canberra’s slot bid
Te owners of Canberra Casino will have a fight on their hands to secure the slot machines the casino has for so long campaigned for. ClubsACT, which represents community clubs in Canberra, is trying to muster support to stop the ACT government’ from succumbing to the casino’s latest request for pokies.
Aquis Entertainment, the Hong-Kong-based company, who took over ownership of Canberra Casino two years wants to redevelop the venue as part of a A$330m blue print. Te most pivotal parts of the proposal, which would require a change in legislation with the ACT Government, would be the inclusion of slot machines.
Te plan is for Aquis to buy 670 slot machines from the city’s clubs, but only 500 will be operated as 170 would be forfeited under the trading scheme rules. ClubsACT has launched an online petition to save the current community club model, which it claims would be jeopardised if the casino operates slot machines.
Te current legislation limits slots to not-for-profit operators.
A spokesperson said: “Our first Tiger Palace Resort is scheduled to open in early 2017, and will provide customers with access to a 2,471m2 casino floor along with a wide range of entertainment, conference, wedding and dining options all served by a 100-room luxury hotel.”
Te company opened Nepal’s first international class casino in early 2015. Based in the luxurious Shangri La Hotel & Resort in Kathmandu’s affluent embassy district, it boasts more than 20 table games and 36 slot machines. Silver Heritage was the first to open a casino under the new Nepal Casino Rules, putting Nepal firmly back on the map for players from nearby India and China
Silver Heritage also manages the Phoenix International Club near Hanoi, which is one of only seven licenced casinos in Vietnam.
In the second quarter of 2015, the Phoenix
International Club was relocated to a beautiful new resort in Bac Ninh, just 45 minutes’ drive from Hanoi’s expanding international airport. Te casino offers 1,500m2 of gaming space, with 12 live tables and 72 electronic table games and slot machines, as well as 34 hotel rooms and 7 VIP Suites. Te resort has a world class spa and treatment centre and floodlight tennis court. Tree luxurious villas and a swimming pool are under development and are expected to open in 2016.
Te spokesperson added: “Our vision is to be Asia’s leading regional diversified land-based gaming operator. Our mission is to establish and operate Western-standard, high-quality, integrated land-based gaming offerings across regional Asia.”
Founded in 2003, Silver Heritage Limited has grown from the supply and managing of slot machines across Asia to an experienced regional gaming management operation with interests in casinos and gaming venues in Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Cambodia
Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp Ltd. posted a net profit of $172.6m last year, a 27 per cent increase over the previous year, attributing the surge to increased business volume across all gaming segments at its NagaWorld casino complex in Phnom Penh. GGR increased 26 per cent to $480.6m in 2015. The strongest growth was in the mass market segment, which saw a 33.4 per cent surge in GGR in 2015 compared to a year earlier, pulling in $257.7m as a result of the formidable 22 per cent win rate at NagaWorld’s public tables. VIP year-on- year growth was a more moderate 18.5 per cent in 2015, with a 2.8 per cent win rate generating $222.9m. NagaCorp said increased tourism to Cambodia resulted in more visits to its property, while convenient gaming options led to incremental growth during the second half of 2015.
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