Russian casino developer Diamond Fortune Holdings Ltd. announced that construction work on its integrated resort in Russia’s Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone has begun. The luxury complex, to be named Selena World Resort & Casino, will be rolled out in phases, with Phase One being scheduled for 2020 completion.
However, the developer said in a Monday statement that it hopes the initial phase of the project to be completed by the fall of 2019. The property will include a 295-room hotel and a casino with no less than 500 slot machines and 100 gaming tables.
The whole project involves the construction of more hotels, including seven-star accommodation options, a spa, retail space, and multiple food and beverage facilities.
Selena World Resort is planned to occupy around 174,000 square meters of land upon completion. Phase Two of the project is expected to be completed at some point in 2022.
Architecture firm Steelman Partners was behind the resort’s design. The firm is known for multiple other casino-related projects, including Solaire Resort & Casino in the Philippines and Galaxy Sky Casino in Macau.
Due to its location, Selena World Resort is hoped to attract VIP casino players from all around Asia, particularly from Mainland China. Thus, the casino complex and the Primorye Zone, as a whole, will try to compete directly with Macau, known to be Asia’s and the world’s largest gambling hub.
An ongoing crackdown on casino gambling in Mainland China has scared off players from the special administrative region, and different Asian countries, Russia included, have been trying to capitalize on the opportunity by attracting those players to their casino premises.
Founded in 2010, Diamond Fortune was one of several companies to have pursued a license for the construction of a casino resort in Primorye. Authorities have granted four such licenses so far, with the aforementioned privately held company being among them.
In 2009, gambling was banned everywhere around Russia with the exception of four specially designated gambling zones, Primorye being one of those zones. Located 70 kilometers from the city of Vladivostok, the gambling zone is the largest of all four. Currently, it is home to one operational casino resort – Tigre de Cristal. The property swung its doors open in late 2015. It is owned by Hong Kong casino tycoon Lawrence Ho, who also manages the City of Dreams and Studio City casino resorts in Macau and City of Dreams Manila in the Philippine capital.
Cambodia’s NagaCorp Ltd. is currently building what would be the Primorye Zone’s second casino complex. The company has previously said that it expects to complete its project by 2019.
