Century Entertainment inks deal with casino owner to operate VIP gaming room in Cambodia’s Dara Sakor

Hong Kong-listed Century Entertainment International Holdings Ltd said Friday it has cancelled an agreement it previously signed with its own Chairman and CEO to run VIP gaming tables at a casino in Cambodia, inking instead a new agreement directly with the casino’s owners.

Under the terms of the agreement, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Wisdom Ocean Group Limited will operate all seven tables at the casino in Dara Sakor for an initial three-year term, for which it will pay the owner, LongBay Entertainment, US$35,000 a month. For this, Century Entertainment will be entitled to 100% of winnings and responsible for 100% of house losses as well as paying relevant staff costs.

LongBay will be responsible for the provision of a relevant valid gaming license, for any operating expenses that cannot be individually separated from the casino and are required for the operation of the VIP room such as utilities fees, sanitation charges and air-conditioning charges, and for the dealers of the gaming tables.

According to details contained in a filing, the previous agreement with Chairman and CEO Ng Man Sun’s Lion King Entertainment was cancelled because the company was unable to obtain the full underlying books and records for the preparation of the profit and loss statement on the identifiable net income stream in relation to the new gaming table business rights, as required under listing rules.

“In order to resume the Group’s gaming business, the company started to negotiate with LongBay Entertainment to directly lease the VIP Rooms from LongBay Entertainment for operation of gaming business,” Century Entertainment explained.

“The VIP Rooms are located at Dara Sakor, Koh Kong Province, Cambodia, which is one of the most rapidly developing districts in Cambodia and a well-known tourism destination in Southeast Asia with attractive potential on the gaming market.

“According to the latest design and construction of the VIP Rooms, the company plans to operate baccarat on all the gaming tables in the VIP Rooms. The Directors expect that the gaming business in the area will have good prospects. The Board believes that the entering into of the Casino Agreement would resume the Group’s gaming business and generate stable revenue for the Group and therefore improve its financial performance and financial position.”

Century Entertainment, formerly known as Amax International Holdings, had previously operated gaming tables at a casino controlled by Ng in Sihanoukville, but announced in October 2020 plans to relocate to Dara Sakor after Ng received a “more attractive offer”.

However, despite signing a new five-year deal in February 2023, the company never officially began its new table games business due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and delays in completing its implementation agreement.

The Dara Sakor casino in question covers a gross floor area of 10,500 square meters and feature a total of 40 mass gaming tables, 55 VIP tables and 80 slot machines as well as a Chinese restaurant, spa and night club.