Cambodian casino resort Star Vegas Resort and Club is to open next month a poker room under the brand Poker King Club.
The launch will coincide with an event from the Asian Poker Tour (APT). APT Southeast Asia 2017 will be held from July 1 to July 7 at Star Vegas, located in the town of Poipet, near Cambodia’s border with Thailand.
The week-long poker tournament features a US$1,100 main event that starts on July 3.
The occasion will also mark the two-year anniversary of the acquisition of the resort by Australia-listed Donaco International Ltd.
“Donaco is very pleased to work with the APT and Poker King Club on this exciting event for our players in Thailand and across Asia,” Joey Lim Keong Yew, managing director and chief executive of Donaco, was quoted as saying in an APT press release.
“Star Vegas is a top quality venue for international players, and we look forward to bringing a top tier poker tournament to Poipet,” he added.
Mr Lim is a member of Malaysia’s Lim family dynasty that founded the gaming and plantations conglomerate Genting Bhd.
According to background information provided by Donaco, 90 percent of Star Vegas customers are from Thailand, with as many as 5,000 people shuttled daily from Thailand to the resort.
In a May 1 press release, Donaco said it had signed a three-year deal with Kings Consulting Ltd, under which Star Vegas would host a minimum of three international poker tournaments.
Kings Consulting – a unit of Macau VIP junket room investor Suncity Group – is the owner of the Poker King Club brand. Suncity has recently been expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia, including via an investment in a Vietnam casino project.
The first Poker King room opened at Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd’s StarWorld Hotel in Macau in 2009 and was named after a Hong Kong film of the same name starring Louis Koo and Sean Lau Ching Wan.
