“Hey Petr, Vlad and Yuri! Get your chips, we’re going to the casino!”
You may remember that in the summer, July 1, 2009, all gaming halls in the world’s biggest country were shut – putting about 1/3Million people out of work, and sending millions more to online casinos and poker rooms. Thanks, by the way, to the Kremlin for that one.
The state designated a few ‘gambling zones’ in remote areas of the country with minimal infrastructure, power, water, people, chips, dealers, etc. One of the zones is in that elusive sweet-spot that shares a border with North Korea… Nice.
Here are the official zones for legal brick and mortar gambling in Russia:
Azov City
the Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea
the Altai region of Siberia
the Primorsky region of Russia’s Far East
This weekend, however, the Oracle Casino (60 miles from Rostov-on-Don – the closest city center) opened its doors, 10 table games and 200 slots. Approximately 100 gamblers showed up along with ~400 spectators. It might not be the pride of Azov City, but it’s a start.
With plans to open a luxury hotel in the summer, the Oracle will probably grow steadily. And as we know from Las Vegas, you don’t need to have the most hospitible climate to get people to show up.
