Translated material
"Chip" with scuba diving
They want to create an underwater casino in the Kaliningrad gambling zone
The gambling zone , which the State Duma agreed to place on the territory of the westernmost region of Russia, will attract wealthy tourists to the region. Regional Minister of Industry and Tourism Nikolai Vlasenko told Vremya Novostey about this.He himself is not a poor man (a ruble billionaire, co-owner of a chain of shopping centers in Kaliningrad, Moscow and St. Petersburg) and knows from his own experience that playing at a roulette or card table is an alluring business. “I’ve been, for example, to Baden-Baden. There is a casino there where Dostoevsky once lost. There I once took revenge for our classic - I won almost three thousand dollars. But not everyone is so lucky. And if similar casinos are installed in our region, the region will be able to receive a substantial income,” says the minister.
At the same time, he understands that the Kaliningrad gambling business will have to compete with “monsters” like Monte Carlo and Baden-Baden. “Europeans are used to going there. Moreover, in the West, playing in a casino is considered a respectable activity. But for us it’s the smell of vice. So we have to not only get rid of this “darling”, but also come up with something of our own, unique, attractive. Otherwise, we will be uninteresting,” believes Mr. Vlasenko.
As an example of “his own”, he suggested using a marine theme - why not build an underwater casino? The project, of course, will be expensive, but the visitors who will go there are clearly not state-funded teachers. “At the same time, we need to use the experience of Las Vegas. There, by the way, the gambling industry itself is only in third place in popularity. And there are various exhibitions and show programs ahead,” the minister added. With exhibitions, of course, you can still come up with something - arrange the same amber in beautiful piles. But show programs in the region are tight. “And for residents of the capital we can arrange weekend tours! A wealthy Muscovite came, breathed in the fresh air of the Baltic Sea, played, helped the Kaliningrad economy financially - and went home,” Mr. Vlasenko paints a rosy forecast.
Let us note that a specific location for the gambling zone has not yet been selected - large plots of land in the east and west of the Kaliningrad region - in the outback and coastal zone - are being considered as possible sites for construction.