Where they plan to locate “Russian Las Vegases”
According to Sergey Darkin, Governor of Primorie region, they are considering three options for placing a gaming zone: in Khasan district, in the suburbs of the town of Artyom (the cape of Cherepakha – the Muravyinaya bay) or on the Russki Island not far from Vladivostok. He believes that the project implementation will be assisted by “developed infrastructure, favourable climate and proximity to the countries of Asia and the Pacific Ocean region”. The nearest airport is the one of Vladivostok.
The zone location in Altay region has not been specified yet. It is supposed to be between the town resort Belokurikha and the tourist base “Biruzovaya Catun” in about 180 km from the airport of Barnaul. The last one will also be the base of a special economic zone of tourist and recreation type, the right for arranging which has been recently granted to Altay region.
In Rostov region, the ground for the Don part of the gaming zone has chosen to be a land on the Azov sea coast in about 90 km from Rostov-on Don. This is the territory around the fishermen’s town of Port-Caton, its population being about 1 thousand people. Right now it is an undeveloped territory – around the town there are fields and waste land. The nearest 80-room hotel is in about 70 km – in the city of Azov. The zone will be created by joint effort of Rostov and Krasnodar regional authorities. The authorities of the two regions state that they have already agreed about the cooperation. The territory is at the same distance from most of the regional airports – in about 100 km.
Kaliningrad region authorities are planning to build a gaming zone on Baltiyskaya bar. It is easy to get there by plane through Kaliningrad, more difficult – through Gdansk or Vilnus airports. However, it must be said that the itinerary from Kaliningrad to the zone implies the ferry transfer from Baltiysk – the most western town of the region. In the opinion of Boris Golovakha, Chairman of Gaming Business Development Association in Kaliningrad region, the construction of Kaliningrad Las Vegas may take five-seven years.
But for the option with the Russki Island in Vladivostok, the cost of a taxi trip from the nearest airport to any of the zones announced will be no less than $100.
“Commersant”