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Russia – Tigre de Cristal sees GGR surge by20 per cent

By - 1 September 2017

An upturn in VIP gaming has helped revenues at Tigre de Cristal resort in the Russian Far East increase by 20 per cent to HK$204.6m (US$26.1m).

The main contribution to the profitability of Tigre de Cristal came from the rolling chip business, which targets VIP customers from Northeast Asia. Rolling chip turnover at Tigre de Cristal in 1H2017 amounts to HK$8.4bn, representing an increase of 140 per cent compared to HK$3.5bn in 1H2016. VIP revenue meanwhile surged by 48 per cent to HK$79.7m.

Tigre’s mass table business saw a small decline in volume in the first half compared to the corresponding period in 2016. A company spokesperson said: “This is mainly because foreign banknotes are not allowed to be used for settling gaming wins or losses under the current Russian legislation. Foreign currency banknotes have to be converted into Russian ruble (RUB) banknotes first for the purpose of chip buying. This has discouraged a lot of our Asian customers from making sizeable bets on mass tables. We are currently lobbying the Russian Government to allow foreign currency banknotes to be used by foreign patrons for the purpose of settling gaming wins or losses.”

“On a brighter note, mass table volume in July and August of 2017 has shown consistent improvement, primarily as a result of our local marketing, player development initiatives and recent closure of illicit gaming venues,” the company added. “Our slot business primarily targets the local Russian market. The ramp up of the slot business since opening has been satisfactory. In 1H 2017, there were 305 slot machines in operation at Tigre de Cristal and the table below sets forth the key performance indicators of our slot business from the fourth quarter of 2015 to 30 August 2017.”

Oriental Regent Limited, the company through which Tigre de Cristal resort, is operated, generated an Adjusted EBITDA of HK$56.9m in 1H2017, representing an increase of 62 per cent. Total net revenues for the Group were HK$204.6m, wholly contributed by Oriental Regent Limited in 1H2017, representing an increase of 20 per cent compared to HK$170.2m in 1H2016.

Net loss for the period attributable to owners of the company was HK$5.4m in 1H2017, compared to a profit of HK$5.5m in 1H2016.

The company said: “The much anticipated simplified visa regime for foreign visitors to Vladivostok was implemented in the beginning of August 2017, and applies to foreign nationals from 18 countries including our major overseas feeder markets. We expect that this new visa regime, combined with increasing flight connectivity and ongoing efforts of the Russian government to promote the Russian Far East as a tourism destination, will accelerate the already explosive growth of foreign tourism and provide us optimism that there is additional room to further ramp up our business.”

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