Dreamland resort aims to attract mostly Vietnamese patrons

ELIXIR Gaming Technologies has been granted a licence to build and operate a US$8 million to $10 million border casino in Takeo province slated to open late next year, according to a press release issued on Friday.

The proposed Dreamworld Casino and Resort is to be located near the Vietnam border on National Highway 2 and aims to attract patrons from among 17 million Vietnamese living within a three-hour drive of the site, Elixir CEO Clarence Chung said in the press release.

“As a border casino, Dreamworld will be strategically positioned to capitalise on the attractive southern Vietnam and greater Phnom Penh feeder markets,” he said.

The proposed casino is to include 150 electronic gaming machines and 20 table games on 5,000 square metres of floor space, along with a 50-room hotel, according to the statement, which added that funding for the project would come from the firm’s cash on hand and projected revenue from its existing operations.

Dreamworld is to be built on 2.83 hectares of land in Takeo province in a purchase expected to be finalised by August. The firm says it has already deposited $850,000 of the $1.76 million total cost of the land.

Hong Kong-based Elixir presently receives only a fraction of wins per day from its existing machines located in casinos in Cambodia and the Philippines, but Chung said the firm will receive 100 percent of revenue from its Dreamworld casino when it opens in late 2011.

“The owner and operator approach allows us the potential for higher long-term incremental returns on our operations, given the ability to collect 100 percent of the next win compared to 20-25 percent as per our existing participation contracts.”

He added that the firm intends to leverage its marketing expertise in the Kingdom to make Dreamworld a “destination” for mass-market players.

The firm also announced plans to increase the number of gaming machines it operates at Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld Hotel and Casino in a separate press release last week.

Elixir will pay $1 million to NagaWorld to host an additional 30 machines once renovations finish expanding floor space in July, according to the release. It will collect 25 percent of revenue from the new machines, with NagaWorld receiving 75 percent, under a contract to run until February 28, 2016.

Permitted to operate up to 670 machines in NagaWorld, Elixir presently has 590 gaming machines with wins per unit per day averaging $180 over the last six months, according to the release.

Hong Kong-listed NagaWorld was granted a 70-year operating licence in 1995, with 41 years of exclusivity within a 200-kilometre radius of Phnom Penh, except for the Vietnam border area, Bokor, the Kirirom region and Sihanoukville.

The American Stock Exchange-listed Elixir posted a $1.7 million net loss in the first quarter of 2010, an improvement on a $2.6 million loss in the fourth quarter and $6.2 million loss in the first quarter of last year, according to results released to AMEX earlier this month.

Elixir officials could not be reached for comment Sunday.