Tigre de Cristal Casino & Resort near Vladivostok, Russia will be closed to the public from 08:00 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. local time today for their official Grand Opening Ceremony. The ceremony and festivities are by invitation only and are expected to be attended by government dignitaries, officials of partner companies who helped bring the new casino to fruition, VIP guests of CEO, Craig Ballantyne, and Summit Ascent Holdings, Lawrence Ho Yau Lung.

At 11:30 p.m. an after-party will begin with the doors open to the public. Highlights of the evening will include a a luxury show ballet performance by the “Soho Dolls” as well as other live entertainment.

Tigre de Cristal performed a successful “soft-opening” or test launch on October 8, 2015 opening the first new casino the Russian Far East. At least 7 more casinos are expected to open in the Primorye Integrated Entertainment Zone (IEZ) about 50km from Vladivistok. At full build-out in 2022 the coastal IEZ will feature integrated resorts built by Summit Ascent, NagaCorp, Diamond Fortune Holdings, and Royal Time Group – each of which has property already under development.

The zone will see the developers complete their resorts in phases culminating in 2022 when some 20,000 people are expected to be employed directly by the resorts. The employees will manage and service 16 hotels, 8 casinos, 10 or more villas, multiple dining and entertainment establishment, a yacht club, nearby ski slopes, theaters, and full scale entertainment and convention/meeting centers.

Although Russian media is reporting that all rooms have been booked through the end of the year, upon the official opening Tigre de Cristal will initially offer a 121 key luxury hotel including 10 Prime suites, 73 Lux & Junior rooms, and 38 Standard accommodations. Spa and fitness facilities are expected to be operational along with several themed bars and restaurants featuring international and local cuisine. The casino now features nearly 500 of the worlds latest slot machines, 42 classic table games and 25 VIP gaming tables.