The Nepal operations of Australia-listed casino operator Silver Heritage Group Ltd. will go full throttle this year, starting with the grand opening of its new integrated resort in Kathmandu.
In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Silver Heritage announced that the hotel, gaming and hospitality facilities of Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa will become fully operational in March, while its VIP rooms with eight tables will launch in the fourth quarter.
Silver Heritage claims that Tiger Palace Resort is the “the first purpose-built integrated resort in South Asia,” excluding the floating casinos in Goa, India.
Silver Heritage has been chasing Indian high-rollers who have been overlooked and undervalued by other casino operators due to the appeal of Chinese gamblers. According to the company, “India will have the world’s largest middle class consumption on an annual basis in 2030,” growing by as much as $12.8 trillion compared with China’s $10 trillion.
Tiger Palace, which is located near two UNESCO world heritage sites, has 100 rooms and suites, in addition to two two-bedroom villas. Its casino currently has 44 gaming tables and 216 electronic gaming machines.
Silver Heritage initially planned to open Tiger Palace last February but a shortage of liquidity in Nepal’s banking system and unanticipated delays in getting approval to increase the equity ceiling of its Nepal corporate investment vehicle pushed the opening date of the integrated resort to August.
Tiger Palace’s original cost was estimated at $40 million but construction delays drove up the price tag to $51.8 million.
In September, Silver Heritage held a dry run of its casino resort facility by welcoming its first paying hotel guests, which included Silver Heritage co-founders Mike Bolsover and Tim Shepherd. Just last week, Silver Heritage announced that it has secured a casino operations license from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal through its subsidiary SHL Management Services.
