Tigre de Cristal, Lawrence Ho’s Asia-facing casino venture in the Vladivostok region of Russia, has released its first results since opening in October.
Majority owned by the Ho-controlled Hong Kong-listed Summit Ascent, Tigre de Cristal is the first casino to open in the Primorye Krai Integrated Entertainment Zone, on Russia’s east coast, offering visa-free access from mainland China.
The project’s first phase, which cost around US$17m, features about 35 gaming tables, including 10 for VIP play, 321 gaming machines and 112 hotel rooms and suites.
Summit Ascent reports that Tigre de Cristal generated EBITDA of HK$14.3m (US$1.8m) on revenue of HK$72m in its near three months of operation in 2015.
The published results also include gaming data for January and February 2016. During the initial three months of operation, around 50 per cent of visitors were from the target Asian markets, compared with 86 per cent from local areas in February. As summer approaches, visitors are likely to again flood in from China and beyond.
Junkets are expected to move in from June, when Tigre de Cristal’s retail, sports facilities and spa are to open. The casino is offering a revenue split of around 56 per cent to junket promoters, higher than the 40-45 per cent on offer from Macau operators.
Macau also has a 39 per cent tax rate on gross gaming revenue, while Vladivostok has only monthly fees equivalent to US$1,800 per table and around US$100 per machine, making the effective tax rate on VIP play of approximately 1.2 per cent.
Source: Forbes
