Two of Macau's major gambling junket brands have been identified as GGRA involved in the operation of VIP gaming rooms at the same beachside resort in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
Privately owned SunCity Group, said Tuesday it plans to open a new VIP club on the second floor of the Sihu Resort Hotel, where the casino is located, as the company known by investment analysts as the biggest contributor to rolling chip volumes in Macau's VIP market. GGRAsia said the high-profile club is branded the "Shigang International SunCity VIP Club," by the junket company.
A source at Guangdong Group, another major Macau junket company, confirmed to GGRA that it had opened a VIP club at the same resort in early April.
Many international media outlets recently reported on the high level of Chinese investment in Sihanoukville. Some invested in regular real estate and some in game management.
In October, SunCity Group Holdings Inc., a Hong Kong-listed company controlled by Alvin Chaukewah, president of SunCity Junket Brands, said it had signed a deal to establish and operate casinos at other resorts in Sihanoukville. Cambodia has been foreshadowed by such laws for several years, but there are currently no gaming laws to regulate the sector.
In late October, Suncity Group Holdings said in a Hong Kong filing that its pursuit of casino operations in Cambodia and Vietnam would not conflict with Hong Kong law. In February this year, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global financial watchdog based in Paris, France, identified Cambodia as one of 12 jurisdictions with "strategic anti-money laundering and terrorist financing shortages".
Privately owned Suncity Group already has junket operations at NagaWorld, a casino resort in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital run by Hong Kong-listed NagaKov. Guangdong Group also has VIP operations there. NagaKov previously said it maintains its own AML monitoring and standards at the Phnom Penh complex, citing due diligence as a publicly traded company.
Regarding its recent entry into the Cambodian market, the Suncity junket brand said the official launch of the Xihu Resort Hotel business will take place in the summer.
"The grand opening date of the 'Shigang International Suncity VIP Club' will be June 29," the company told us. The brand added that the facility will have 20 game tables in three salons - baccarat and Texas holdum poker games available for customers.
According to the brand, it will be the 14th Suncity Group VIP Game Club outside of Macau. In addition, the brand also runs the Poker King Club, a business that promotes poker. Although the recent poker competition in Macau was canceled in a short time, the brand is also doing business outside of Macau.
Guangdong Group is hosting 16 game tables for VIP operations at the Sihu resort, the sources said.
