GGRAsia – Profit reported at first Vietnam casino with local players

Profit reported at first Vietnam casino with local players

Oct 04, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

The Corona Resort and Casino, on Phu Quoc island in Vietnam, posted a pre-tax profit of VND108 billion (US$4.67 million) in its first six months of operation, says promoter Phu Quoc Tourism Investment and Development Company JSC.

The company had overall revenues of VND1.15 trillion for the first six months of calendar year 2019, down 10 percent year-on-year, said media outlet VnExpress International, quoting company documents.

The report stated that Corona (pictured) generated overall revenues of VND605 billion. It was unclear from the report whether the figures attributed to Corona referred only to its gaming operations or to the entire property. The venue also offers hotel accommodation, and food and drink.

Phu Quoc Tourism Investment and Development is a Vietnamese property development and real estate firm. It owns a network of tourism-related businesses, including hotels, restaurants and villa management operations.

Phu Quoc Tourism Development and Investment is controlled by Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup.

Corona Resort and Casino opened on January 19. It is reported to have been the first – and so far only – casino property in Vietnam to be allowed to offer gambling services to economically-qualified locals, under a long-flagged three-year national pilot scheme. Another project, to be located in northern Vietnam at Van Don, is also expected to allow eligible locals to gamble.

Netherlands-based Upffinity Gaming was – according to its management – appointed in 2017 by the Phu Quoc Tourism Development and Investment to provide casino management and advisory services for the Corona property.

The gaming venue was designed by U.S.-based architecture practice Steelman Partners LLP, which has been involved in the design of a number of large casino projects in Asia.

Phu Quoc is only 68 kilometres (42 miles) – as the crow flies – from Sihanoukville, an expanding casino hub in neighbouring Cambodia, although in practice travel between the two places is currently only possible via a combination of road transport and ferry, and is time-consuming according to travel guides available online.

The government lifted a ban on Vietnamese gambling in casinos in March 2017, following a decree in January 2017 allowing a trial project for gambling by economically-qualified locals at certain venues.

Vietnamese customers must be older than 21 and have a monthly income of at least VND10 million; they also need to pay an entry levy in order to gain access to casino floors.

Only casino resorts with a total capital investment of at least US$2 billion – including gaming and non-gaming facilities – are eligible to welcome Vietnamese to gamble.