Las Vegas Review Journal – Somehow, “What happens in Crimea, stays in Crimea,” doesn’t seem like an appropriate catchphrase. In April, a month after Russia forcibly annexed the Black Sea peninsula away from Ukraine, President Valdimir Putin said he wants to turn the territory into his own version of Las Vegas. He wasn’t talking about replacing “Thunder From Down Under” with the “Shirtless Putin Dancers.”
Putin crusaded against gambling in 2006, leading to the closure of most Russian casinos and slot machine parlors. He called gambling a “dangerous addiction and a magnet for organized crime.” Now, he wants to create a gambling zone in Crimea, complete with Las Vegas-style hotel-casinos.
The announcement was met with silence from gaming developers. In fact, most casino experts found the idea laughable. Andrew Gellatly, who heads London-based editorial and gaming research firm GamblingCompliance.com, told Bloomberg News the plan will fail. Russian high rollers favor more luxurious gaming destinations such as London or Monaco. A former Soviet republic doesn’t fit the bill.
Also, infrastructure connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland is lacking. Steve Gallaway, a partner of U.S.-based Gambling Market Advisors, told The Wall Street Journal that Crimea “has no value” as a casino destination. “Russians don’t go there on vacation.”
Russia in 2009 created four so-called “gaming zones” across the country where casinos could operate as a way to promote tourism. The idea was to attract Russian gamblers and international visitors. Crimea would be a fifth zone.
The first zone under development is in Vladivostok, an area best known for fish processing and heavy industry. The location, in Russia’s Pacific Coast Primorye region, didn’t initially attract the interest of U.S.-based casino companies.
Global Gaming Asset Management, a company headed by former Las Vegas Sands Corp. President Bill Weidner, had some initial talks with the government-run development group concerning Vladivostok. His team since has been hired to oversee the centerpiece hotel-casino complex of the $3.5 billion Baha Mar development in the Bahamas, which is scheduled to open in December.
Nassau weather is better at any time of year than the climate of eastern Russia.
Gaming in Russia has other issues as well.
