US firm to develop hotel-casino in Vietnam

(VNA) Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. has announced it would invest 95 million USD to acquire a 26 percent stake in a resort development project in Vietnam where it would build a hotel-casino.

Pinnacle's May 26 statement wrote, the Ho Tram Strip project, being developed by a Canadian company, Asian Coast Development, is beachfront complex of destination resorts and residential developments in southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, approximately 80 miles southeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

The US company will build a hotel with around 540 rooms and a casino with 90 game tables and 500 slot machines. The Pinnacle-funded hotel-casino will be built after a similar project, developed by MGM Resorts International, open in 2013.

Pinnacle Chief Executive Officer Anthony Sanfilippo said in the statement the move helps diversify the regional casino company, which operates seven casinos in Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Reno.

Pinnacle, a Las Vegas-based leading developer, owner and operator of casino gaming resorts, also owns a racetrack in Cincinnati and is building a casino in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“The phenomenal success and continued strong growth of destination integrated resort and gaming facilities in Asian markets are indicative of the demand for quality gaming entertainment options in Asia. Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam's largest city and attracts the bulk of Vietnam's 5 million annual tourists,” Sanfilippo said.

"Our investment and long-term management agreement bring meaningful strategic benefits to Pinnacle, including further diversification and potentially very significant returns on invested capital”./.