Shambala casino resort in Primorye, Russia, received on average 550 guests per day during its first 2.5 months of operations, with a peak of 700 on Fridays, according to a business update issued recently.

The business update covered the period since the casino launch on October 2020, up to the end of that year. It said the profile of a typical guest for the period was a male aged between 25 to 35, hailing from Primorsky region, spending on average US$117 on gaming, and RUB,1539 on restaurant services.

Shambala is part of the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone, a casino development area located 50 kilometres from port city Vladivostok.

According to IEZ website, Shambala’s promoter, Shambala CJSC, has pledged to invest about US$110 million in the project. The design and construction of the facility began in November 2018, according to information supplied by the promoter.

Primorye IEZ is also home to the Tigre de Cristal, controlled by Hong Kong-listed Summit Ascent Holdings which opened in 2015. Other casino resorts, including one from Hong Kong-listed Cambodian casino business NagaCorp, are also part of the development plan.

Shambala’s business update said the resort had received slightly more male guests than women guests, during its first 2.5 months of operation: 58% of patrons were men versus 42% women. However, 62% of all visitors aged 21 to 36 were women from Primorye.

The property’s summary said 64% of guests preferred to play on gaming machines, followed by 32% preferring roulette and 11% opting for poker.

It added that, “as long as the borders are closed, baccarat remains entertainment for the few” That was a reference to restrictions on inbound travel to Russia amid the pandemic, and the fact that baccarat is the table game of choice among many East Asian players.

The average player spend by game category was RUB4,520 on roulette; RUB5,780 on poker, and RUB2,750 on gaming machines.

Given the inbound travel curbs, most guests during the business review period were from the Russian Federation. Shambala said that “despite the international isolation, foreign guests” had still attended its casino.

The total was 3,780 guests from 24 countries and regions. Of these: 864 guests were from Asian countries and regions, and 2,849 guests were from neighboring countries.

Editing by Rachel Hu