- Title: The first casino opens in a designated gambling zone of Sochi
- Date: 6th January 2017
- Summary: CASINO ENTRANCE YOUNG WOMEN POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH IN FRONT OF CASINO MAN POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH IN FRONT OF CASINO MOUNTAINS AND SKI LIFT NEAR CASINO
- Embargoed: 21st January 2017 10:47
- Keywords: Russia Sochi gambling zone casino opening
- Location: SOCHI, RUSSIA
- City: SOCHI, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Living/Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0045XY1YRD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Popular ski resort Krasnaya Polyana has become a venue for the first casino opened in the Russian Black Sea city and the designated gambling area of Sochi on Thursday (January 5).
The casino, located in the mountainous Gorki Gorod resort has 569 slot machines, 70 gambling tables, a separate poker club as well as bars, restaurants, cabaret-theatre and shops and can house up to 2,000 people simultaneously.
Local residents, officials and businessmen hope the casino will bring in revenues for the region's development and attract more tourists.
"1,100 people will be working here simultaneously from now on. On the initial stage the casino will pay no less than half a billion roubles to budgets of all levels, this does not include additional payments. Therefore, it is a big project, it is a tourist Mecca, it is a new quality of tourism," said Alexander Saurin, Director-General of Krasnaya Polyana shareholder.
Casino's administration hopes the new gambling facility will be popular not only with Russians, but will attract tourists from Turkey, Iran, Israel, China and the United Arab Emirates.
According to preliminary forecasts average number of people visiting the new casino per month will be around 40,000.
Sochi is one of the six designated gambling areas in Russia, others are Primorsky krai, Krasnodarski krai, Altai and Kaliningrad regions and Crimea, which was added to the list in 2014 after the annexation.
Last summer, Russian government submitted to the State Duma, lower house of country's parliament, the new legislation that makes gambling outside the specially-designated gambling zones a criminal offence. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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