Phoenix International Club reopens, fate unknown

Friday 15th of March 2019

The Phoenix International Club, which was forced to close earlier this month, has reportedly reopened, according to Professor Augustine Vinh, quoting the managers of the casino.

Earlier this month, the Phoenix Club was forced to close as a result of complications with its Investment Certificate.

Silver Heritage Group announced it had to cease providing its services to Phoenix International Club in Bac Ninh, Vietnam after receiving notice from the General Manager of Phoenix that table games had been omitted in its revised Investment Certificate, and hence, no longer permitted to operate on the property.

It also asked for the closure of the casino for an indefinite period.

However, according to Vinh, the casino reopened on Friday without Silver Heritage’s involvement, and is understood to still be operating “business as usual” - meaning it is still providing table games and electronic gaming machines.

However, an official from the Ministry of Finance reiterated to Vinh yesterday that table games are not permitted under Decree no.3/2017.

The Ministry of Finance under the authority of the Prime Minister, stipulated that no five star hotels can have live dealers - only integrated resorts can have this, said Vinh in a conference earlier this week.

It is unknown how the central or provincial government will react to the casino’s offering of live table games.

The latest debacle has also raised questions about the fate of the six other regional casinos in Vietnam, including the Do Son in Haiphong, Donaco at Lao Cai, Royal in Halong Bay, the casinos in Mon Cai and Crown in Da Nang.