From July next year Russia's gambling industry will be confined to four remote areas: Kaliningrad, Primorye Altai regions and the southern region of Krasnodar, which has been the first to present its ideas on developing a Russian Las Vegas along the Azov Sea. The gaming center planned for this region has been located on the border of the Krasnodar and Rostov regions, and was created late last year, in time to open when the Russia's gambling industry ban comes into effect for the rest of the country on July 1, 2009.

Regional authorities said in a statement that they expected it to bring 2 billion roubles (US$85 million) to government coffers per year. For this, an auction will take place at the beginning of next month. The statement said: "On July 1, the Krasnodar regional authorities will offer Russian and foreign investors 20 land plots in the gaming zone. They will be bidding for long-term leases with the right to buy after construction on them is completed."

The Krasnodar government statement said it was hoping to find companies to invest US$3 billion to US$5 billion in Azov-City, adding that it would spend nearly 500 million roubles (US$21 million) to provide electricity, gas and water to the facility. According to the regional planners, investors will build the gambling centre: "Just like a Cossack village, starting with one street, from the ground up that will grow into an entire Las Vegas."

The casino town will be spread over 2,000 hectares and have 50 hotels with a planned 35,000 thousand rooms. It will even have its own airport and a small port on a specially constructed island for the super-rich arriving in yachts. When it is finished, Azov City is expected to have a population of around 60,000, and hopes to draw over six million tourists annually. (E-06.27.08)

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