Sochi, a Russian city on the Black Sea, is once again back on the radar as the Sochi Casino and Resort finally rolled out its red carpet for its guest for the first time.
Sputnik International reported that Sochi Casino will be launched today, Thursday. The opening of the brick-and-mortar facility in Krasnaya Polyana – a 165,000 square meter gaming zone –is said to boost tourism in the idyll Russian summer beach resort.
“Sochi Casino and Resort is the first entertainment complex of a global scale located on the territory of the year-round mountain resort Gorky Gorod. Sochi Casino and Resort is a project with a unique concept for Russia in the spirit of the best casinos of Las Vegas. The grand opening of the casino will take place on January 5,” the Domain LLC company said in a statement.
The Russian government has banned gambling in the country’s major cities except for four designated areas: the Primorsky Territory in Russia’s Far East, the Kaliningrad Oblast, Altai Krai, and Azov-City.
Sochi is to become the fifth area to welcome casino gaming development in the country after a Russian government decree on the creation of a casino complex in the former host of the Winter Olympics was signed on August 10, 2016 by Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
The US$65.55 billion entertainment complex includes a casino, two restaurants, a cabaret theater, a bar and other venues. It is expected that over 40,000 guests will visit the complex every month.The gambling venue will be located in the building of the former Olympic press center.
The Krasnodar Krai administration has awarded the right to create and manage the casino to Domain. It was also the first company to receive a permit from the Russian government.
Currently, local authorities haven’t received any applications from other entities, wishing to deal with the same business within the gaming zone.
