Hong Kong’s Century Entertainment International Holdings Limited, formerly known as Amax International Holdings, has terminated a lease deal with Cambodia’s Crown Resorts Co Ltd to operate a VIP room at Genting Crown Casino in Poipet, Cambodia.
The lease deal, which was due to expire in November, saw Century Entertainment run 13 VIP tables at Genting Crown for a monthly fee of between RMB500,000 (US$115,000) and RMB600,000 (US$138,000). The company had subsequently outsourced operation of the room to a third party operator it said at the time had previously run a room at Amax’s Greek Mythology casino in Macau between 2006 and 2011, and gaming operations in Singapore and Saipan.
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On Wednesday, Century Entertainment said it has reached a mutual agreement with Crown Resorts Co Ltd – no relation to the Australian casino firm of the same name – to terminate the lease agreement from 1 June 2020, including full release from any current or future claims, costs or expenses.
The decision followed a directive by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen for all casinos in the country to close from 2 April 2020 to stop the spread of COVID-19 – an order that remains in place today.
“Having considered the License Agreement will expire on 30 November 2020 and also various factors affecting the resumption of the VIP room operation until the expiration of the License Agreement, the Company is of the view that the entering into of the Termination Agreement to early terminate the License Agreement without compensation is a favorable opportunity for the Company to minimize the Group’s cash outlay during the epidemic period as well as minimizing the impact of the Temporary Closure to the Group,” Century Entertainment said.
The company still operates four VIP tables at a property in Sihanoukville owned by its own Chairman and CEO, Ng Man Sun.
