Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING APRIL 2018 18 Under the Casino Rules 2070, Nepal’s casinos cannot offer gaming to locals, cannot issue credit to players and must pay annual license fees of around US$100,000 plus fixed “gaming royalties” of US$300,000. In return, there is no tax on gross gaming revenue. COVER STORY has seen weekend visitation edge towards 1,000. Last month’s Grand Opening attracted around 1,250 resort guests including 982 casino patrons over two days. By comparison, Kathmandu’s casinos are estimated to attract anywhere between 200 to 500 visitors per casino, per day. Silver Heritage also reported new casino highs during Grand Opening celebrations, with record single day table drop of US$160,000 and GGR of US$54,000 on Saturday 17 March. For the first 18 days of the month, table drop totaled US$1 million and GGR a healthy US$270,000. Bolsover says that the company is “very active on social media and the regular marketing channels. We have taken space at various international travel shows and the ramp-up is currently going to plan now that we are finally in full swing.” The casino at Tiger Palace is modest by Macau standards but grand by Nepal’s and India’s, with 44 gaming tables and 216 electronic gaming machines, including 61 electronic roulette terminals. Roulette is the number one table game in the Indian market and it is four shiny new roulette tables that take pride of place in the center of the Tiger Palace gaming floor. Baccarat also performs reasonably well, while Grand Opening weekend saw three VIP tables operating in the elevated Premium Mass level. Plans are underway to launch three private VIP rooms with nine new tables, two separate cages and a private dining experience by the end of 2018. The company hopes these private rooms will allow Tiger Palace to diversify its customer base by attracting not only India’s upper class but also premium players from China and Southeast Asia. Crucially, Bolsover explains, the bumpy ride in from the airport will soon be a distant memory with a new six lane highway that will stretch for 24km alongside Tiger Palace due for completion Roulette is the most popular table game among Indian guests