Operator News
Vietnam – Historic weekend in Vietnam as Corona opens to locals
By Phil - 18 January 2019
It will be a historic weekend for Vietnamese casino gambling as the Corona Resort and Casino on the tourist island of Phu Quoc opens becoming the first Vietnamese casino to let locals gamble.
Dutch firm Uppfinity Gaming Management confirmed the casino would open on January 19 although some of the non-gaming elements are already open. Located in the southern province of Kien Giang, Corona, which has been designed by US architectural firm Steelman Partners, will open for Vietnamese gamblers as part of a three-year pilot program approved by the government in late 2016. Locals must be aged at least 21 and earn a minimum income of VND10m (US$430). Players will also have to pay a $50 entry fee and buy a monthly permit costing $1,100. The property will boast 100 gaming tables, including baccarat, roulette, blackjack, sic bo and forms of poker, as well as 1,000 slot machines. It will also offer VIP gaming with a private ‘sky casino,’ a KTV and three restaurants. It will also offer a theatre, a golf course, an amusement park and a safari park.
Uppfinity Gaming Management will be running the casino in a collaboration with Phu Quoc Tourism Development and Investment Company and Vingroup, a Vietnamese conglomerate.
The other two properties which will be allowed to offer local players the chance to gamble include one being developed near Hanoi by Vietnamese firm Sun Group and another in the Van Don Special Administrative Economic Zone.
