Guiding Lines: The Family Alliance
Therefore, an agreement signed by Crocus Group, which is currently building a large casino on the territory of Crocus City Mall, and Australian gaming industry giant Publishing and Broadcasting (PBL) was seen as a landmark event on the market.
The idea and design of Crocus City Mall belongs to Aras Agalarov and his family. His son Emin oversees all retail operations at the mall. The project, providing 330,000sqm of showrooms and 62,000sqm of retail areas is situated at the intersection of the Moscow outer ring road (MKAD) and Volokolamskoye Shosse.
The Agalarovs’ project envisages development of a 22-storied Veneto tower on the site, to be finalized by late 2007. Veneto will house a 24,300sqm casino and a 80,000sqm hotel, to be run by the Packers, the Australian family that owns PBL.
Thus, PBL will be the first international casino operator to arrive in Russia. Nowadays, there are some 40 large casinos operating in Moscow. Most are run by their owners or local management companies. The leading gaming centers are Golden Palace, Ibiza, Rozovy Flamingo, Korona, Kristall, Manhattan, Metelitsa, Metropol, Merelin, and National. Some of them operate in hotels. Yet, none is run by international operators.
The casino at Crocus City Mall will be one of the largest in the capital and is expected to operate on the premises of perhaps the second largest exhibition and entertainment project in the city, after Moskva City. PBL seems to be right candidate for the job. The Australian company operates a chain of gaming and entertainment complexes across the globe, including Crown in Melbourne.
For the time being, foreign casino operators are still few in Russia, although some of them have taken first steps already to secure a foothold here. For example, Podkova (in Russian: “Horseshoe”) was run by Frank Eckta who had arrived in Moscow from Las Vegas; a small gaming establishment Begovaya was managed by a Lebanese Munir el-Debs. But, perhaps, the Packers and Agalarovs will start a new trend and other foreign operators will follow PBL into Russia.
The Agalarovs are public entrepreneurs. His personal wealth estimated at $540 million in 2005 Aras Agalarov ranked 84th on the Forbes list of Russia’s richest individuals. In 2004, Crocus International reported a turnover of $250 million. The Agalarovs do not shun impressive marketing stunts to attract attention to their gigantic developments.
Crocus City Mall is popular with shoppers, just like other shopping centers operating along the Moscow outer ring road. When Agalarov had first unveiled his plans to develop an enormous exhibition complex comparable in size to an airport hall, his colleagues tried to talk him out of it. These days, Crocus Explo hosts shows and exhibitions, as well as annual fashion events.
In the early 2000s some analysts doubted the prospects of exhibition and hotel facilities at Crocus Expo, situated too far away from the center. Now time has come to rekindle public attention to the project by announcing the arrival of PBL. Such events are hailed by journalists who are always ready to spread the news across the globe. At the same time, PBL’s arrival will provide a sort of a guarantee for future tenants at Veneto by enhancing its status, which usually happens where a foreign participant joins in.