Krasnaya Polyana is a gambling zone in the village of Krasnaya Polyana of the Adler District of Sochi ( Krasnodar Territory ). An order of the Government of the Russian Federation on the creation of the fifth gambling zone "Krasnaya Polyana" in Sochi was signed on August 10, 2016 [1] .
The gaming zone is located in the Sochi mountain cluster on land plots with an area of 165 thousand m², previously provided for the placement of Olympic facilities, the financing and construction of which was carried out not at the expense of budgetary funds or funds of the state corporation Olympstroy , but by private investors [2] .
Creation History
Initially, the proposal to create a gambling zone in Sochi at Olympic facilities in February 2012 was made by the ex-head of the state-owned company “ Resorts of the North Caucasus ” (ASC) Ahmed Bilalov [3] . However, then the ex-governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Tkachev opposed the creation of a gambling zone in Sochi [4] .
In December 2013, a number of media outlets published a proposal by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to create a new gambling zone and several special tourist zones in the resort city of Sochi after the Winter Olympics [5] [6] . However, this information was refuted by the spokeswoman for Medvedev, Natalya Timakova [7] [8] .
The initiative to create a gambling zone in Sochi was made by the head of Sberbank of Russia German Gref [9] . At that time, the bank controlled OJSC Krasnaya Polyana, which built the Gornaya Karusel ski and sports complex in the village of Krasnaya Polyana. According to Gref, the opening of the gambling zone would make it possible to recoup the costs of investors for the construction of the Olympic Games 2014 [10] .
In 2014, when discussing the bill on the creation of a gambling zone in Crimea, the State Duma deputy , world chess champion Anatoly Karpov introduced an amendment allowing the creation of a gambling zone also in the Krasnodar Territory [11] . Also in 2014, a member of the Federation Council Vitaly Ignatenko , speaking at the first meeting of the Sochi 2014 Public Council after the XXII Olympic Winter Games, proposed to allow opening a casino in Sochi [12] .
July 22, 2014 Vladimir Putin signed the law on the creation of gambling zones in the Crimea and in the Krasnodar Territory [13] . On August 10, 2016, Dmitry Medvedev signed an order of the Government of the Russian Federation on the creation of the fifth gaming zone “Krasnaya Polyana” in Sochi [1] .
The leadership of the Krasnodar Territory considered that it makes no sense to develop two gambling zones in the region, the second Azov-City gambling zone will cease to exist on January 1, 2019 [14] .
The first casino in Krasnaya Polyana - Sochi Casino and Resort - opened on January 5, 2017 at the Gorki Gorod complex [15] [16] .
Location and accessibility
The gambling zone "Krasnaya Polyana" is located in the village of Esto-Sadok, Krasnopolyanskiy settlement district of the Adler district of the resort city of Sochi in the Krasnodar Territory.
Road Transport
The village is located 3 km east of the village of Krasnaya Polyana, 45 km northeast of Adler and 77 km by road from Central Sochi. The Black Sea coast is 48 km away.
There are daily shuttles for visitors to Sochi Casino and Resort on the following routes: Imeretinskaya Lowland - Sochi Casino and Resort and Sochi Center - Sochi Casino and Resort [17] .
Rail Transport
In preparation for the 2014 Olympics, a railway station was built in the village of Esto-Sadok on the Adler - Roza-Khutor line , along which a modern Lastochka electric train runs daily from Sochi to Krasnaya Polyana.
Other modes of transport
Guests of the gambling zone can get from other cities of Russia and from abroad through the Sochi International Airport (located 45 km from the gambling zone) and through the Sochi Commercial Sea Port in Central Sochi.
Current status
The only resident of the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone is the Sochi Casino and Resort casino. Investments in the Sochi Casino and Resort project amounted to more than 4 billion rubles [18] . The casino has 569 slot machines and 70 gaming tables , 10 of which are for poker . In addition to the casino , the complex has two restaurants, a bar, a banquet hall, a cabaret theater , a conference hall and boutiques [16] .
The complex has 1,154 jobs, with about 7% of the employees being foreign gambling and entertainment industry professionals who worked in Monte Carlo and Las Vegas . The maximum capacity of Sochi casinos is up to 2 thousand people at a time. The expected amount of tax deductions from his work will be more than 433 million rubles a year.
Responsible Gaming Strategy
For the first time in Russia, Sochi Casino and Resort introduced [19] .
The strategy is aimed at increasing the guests' awareness of what a responsible game is and what its principles are, how to play responsibly, what to do if there is an addiction , how to stop and where to get help. At the first stage of the implementation of the strategy, the casino administration will increase the awareness of the guests of the Krasnaya Polyana gambling zone about the principles of responsible gaming [20] .
Competition
In January 2017, the Sochi Casino and Resort complex hosted the Eurasian Poker Tour poker series, which consisted of 25 tournaments of various buy-ins and formats, with a prize pool of $ 500 thousand [21] [22] .
In March 2017, the Sochi Casino and Resort hosted a series of PartyPoker Million Sochi with a prize pool of $ 1 million. The number of visits exceeded 5800, the number of participants - 1170. The main event brought together participants from 11 countries, and the winner of the tournament received $ 225 thousand [23 ] [24] [25] .
PokerStars Championship Sochi
In May 2017, the Sochi Casino and Resort complex hosted the Russian stage of the international poker championship - PokerStars Championship Sochi. The guaranteed prize fund amounted to 150 million rubles [26] .
It is planned that the PokerStars Championship will be held in Sochi as part of a long-term agreement with the Sochi Casino and Resort [26] .
Perspectives
According to forecasts, after the appearance of the casino, the number of visitors in the mountain cluster will increase by 25% in the first full year of operation with a further increase of up to 60%, that is, up to 1 million visitors in the fifth year of operation [18] .
It is planned to expand the geography of the arrival of tourists in Sochi: tourists from Turkey , Iran , China , Israel , the UAE are expected.
Interesting Facts
In the winter of 2016, student teams from Omsk worked in the Sochi Casino and Resort casino. Students served as waiters, maids and assistant cooks [27] [28] .
See also
- Gambling in Russia
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Gambling zone in Sochi: yesterday, today, tomorrow , LoginCasino.com (October 6, 2016). Date accessed July 17, 2017. (unavailable link)
- ↑ The first casino of the new gambling zone Krasnaya Polyana will open in Sochi , TASS (January 5, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Kozak against the idea of transforming the post-Olympic Sochi into the gambling zone , TASS (January 13, 2014). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Gribtsova, Julia . Gref proposed creating a gambling zone on the basis of Olympic venues , Vedomosti.ru , CJSC Business News Media (January 22, 2014). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Olympic investors played out , Kommersant newspaper No. 234 dated 12/19/2013 , Kommersant JSC (December 19, 2013). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Bushukhin, Ignat . The creation of a gambling zone in Sochi will not save the local real estate market , RBC. Real Estate , CJSC Rosbusinessconsulting (December 19, 2013). Date of treatment July 10, 2017.
- ↑ Artyomova, Eugene . To play or not to play , Interfax-South , CJSC Interfax (December 19, 2013). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ The prime minister did not propose creating a gambling zone in Sochi , the Internet portal of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and the FSBI Editing the Rossiyskaya Gazeta (December 19, 2013). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Putin signed the law on the creation of gambling zones in Sochi and Crimea , TASS (July 23, 2014). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Gref proposes to make Russian Sochi Las Vegas , Yuga.ru , LLC Yuga.ru (January 23, 2014). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ A gambling zone will appear in Sochi , Vedomosti Newspaper No. 3761 dated 07/04/2014 , Business News Media CJSC (July 4, 2014). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Deputies approved the creation of gambling zones in Crimea and Sochi , IA GARANT , LLC NPP GARANT-SERVICE (July 4, 2014). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Putin allowed a casino in the Crimea and Sochi , Days.Ru , OOO Days.ru (July 23, 2014). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ One of the two gambling zones operating in Russia will be closed , Vedomosti Newspaper No. 3761 dated January 30, 2015, Business News Media CJSC (January 30, 2015). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Bondarenko, Olga . Chips in the Mountains , Rossiyskaya Gazeta - Federal Issue No. 7167 (1) , FSBI Editorial Board of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta (January 8, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ 1 2 Artyomova, Eugene . Non-Olympic Games , Interfax-South , CJSC Interfax (January 9, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Shuttles launch at Sochi Casino , LoginCasino.com (February 23, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ 1 2 The first casino appeared in Sochi , Interfax , CJSC Interfax (January 5, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Sochi Casino and Resort launches a responsible gaming strategy , Betting Business Russia (May 17, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Tatar, Daria . Stuart McLaughlin: “The essence of the strategy of a responsible game is not to facilitate the operation of a casino,” Betting Business Russia (June 9, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Sochi will host an international poker tournament , Kuban 24 , State Unitary Enterprise of the Krasnodar Territory NTK Broadcasting Company (January 20, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Sochi's new casino will host a major poker tournament , gursesintour.com (March 4, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Sochi Casino and Resort hosted the largest-scale poker series PartyPoker Million Sochi , LoginCasino.com (March 29, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ PartyPoker Million Sochi's attendance at Sochi Casino and Resort reached nearly 6,000 , Betting Business Russia (March 29, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Chpaev, Vladimir . A large-scale poker series was held at the Sochi Casino and Resort , Sochi Lens (March 29, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ 1 2 Edgar Stachli (GPTL): “PokerStars plans to hold the stages of international championships in Russia on an ongoing basis,” LoginCasino.com (April 4, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Shipilova, Tatyana . Omsk student squads distinguished themselves in the gambling zone in Sochi , the Omskregion news agency , the Omsk Region State Budgetary Institution, the “editorial board of the Omskaya Pravda newspaper” (February 16, 2017). Date of treatment July 17, 2017.
- ↑ Student squads , News of Gambling (February 17, 2017) worked in the gambling zone of Sochi . Date of treatment July 17, 2017.