It seems that the only casino venue in Russia’s Primorye gaming zone – Tigre de Cristal – may eventually get some competition in July, after years of operation.
In May 2020, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Primorsky Territory, Konstantin Shestakov, revealed that the Shambala casino project, which has so far been under development, would start operation in July. Still, Mr. Shestakov did not provide additional information regarding the exact timing of the release, saying that the owner of the place is the one who would make the announcement.
The news was confirmed by Dmitry Pisarenko, a representative of the Russian company that is behind the casino project, Shambala CJSC. Mr. Pisarenko shared that the construction works of the Shambala casino were brought to an end and the operator was now working on the interior of the venue, with some of the halls having already been completed in full.
Considering the recent coronavirus pandemic outbreak and the country’s efforts to handle the Covid-19 infection rate, Mr. Pisarenko explained that the situation presented some challenges to the casino operator. Still, most of the materials and equipment had been secured by the Shambala casino project in advance, which made it possible for the construction works to continue.
Tigre De Cristal Has Been the Only Casino Venue Operating in Primorye So Far
The project for the Shambala casino in the Primorye gaming zone was given the green light in 2017. After it starts operation, it will only be the second casino to launch in the region, which was once planned as the Russian alternative of large gambling hubs on a global scale.
The plans, however, changed over the years. The first casino to start operation in Primorye was Tigre de Cristal that made its debut in 2015 and has remained the only gambling venue in the zone since then. The casino was forced to cease operation at the end of March because of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. It briefly resumed operation before closing again and is still expected to reopen.
Back in 2015, the large Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp started the construction of its planned Naga Vladivostok project but the company recently announced that the casino is not expected to start operation until 2021.
Naga Vladivostok casino is not the first project in Primorye that has faced difficulties. There is, for example, the Selena project of Diamond Fortune Holdings. The company started the construction of the gambling venue in June 2017 and has previously revealed hopes to see the casino become operational in September 2020. However, the project faced certain funding issues, which were eventually settled, but meanwhile, the casino was renamed from Selena to Imperial. Currently, the project’s construction stage remains unclear.
Other projects, including the Phoenix casino project of the Royal Time Group, failed to get further progress because of some funding issues that stopped the operator from meeting the preliminarily revealed development timelines.
