The Malaysian sole entertainment and casino property Resorts World Genting announced that its Circus Palace and Hollywood casinos will be closed from February 28 onwards. As reported, the company gave no further details about the reason for the closure or the duration of such action.

Closure Announced On Web Page:

According to GGRAsia, Genting used its web page to make the announcement as follows:“Please proceed to SkyCasino for gaming.” The SkyCasino facility will reportedly be daily available from 10 a.m. to midnight. As reported, the announcement also stated that the visitors may refer to Genting’s staff from its Grand Hotel, Highlands Hotel, or First World Hotel for more information.

The source attempted to learn more about the closure from the management of Genting Malaysia Bhd, the company running the resort, but reportedly has received no reply so far. But GGRAsia cites Oriental Daily to report that Circus Palace and Hollywood, the two casinos integrated into the Resort World Genting property, have experienced a slower traffic after the Covid-19 pandemic. As reported, an increasing number of players has preferred the modern SkyCasino facility ever since.

Slower Casino Activities After Pandemic:

These assumptions are reportedly supported by other news outlets indicating that the so-called International Room, located within the two older resort’s gaming floors, has also been facing a sluggish gaming activity since the pandemic. In its web site announcement, the company reportedly advised visitors to proceed to SkyCasino rather than seek admission to the old gaming room.

Amidst the assumptions about the reasons for the closure of the Circus Palace and Hollywood casinos in Resorts World Genting, the operator remains silent. The duration of the closure of the two casino facilities of the integrated resort located in Genting Highlands in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur is also subject to speculations. It seems that the patrons will have to wait until further notice to learn more about the casino shutdown set for February 28, 2024.

Malaysian Tourism Driven by Chinese Arrivals:

Meanwhile, GGRAsia reports that Malaysian gaming industry has been strongly supported by the continued growth of the country’s tourism industry in the post-pandemic period. The industry stakeholders confirm these arguments expecting the indicators to grow further in the forthcoming period.

As reported, Tradeview Capital Sdn Bhd CEO, Ng Zhu Hann, said that the Malaysian tourism market is expected to accelerate as it has been driven by visa-free entry agreement with China. Hann reportedly also expects that the Chinese arrivals – booming over the recent Lunar New Year celebrations – will continue to propel growth and elevate revenues of Resort World Genting as well.

Simultaneous Operating Decline:

According to Asian Gaming Brief, the Malaysian tourism industry records an excellent performance while the country’s gaming sector seems to be staggering. In addition to mysterious closure of Genting’s casinos near Kuala Lumpur, the company has recently faced the termination of the casino sales deal in Russia. After the Russian buyer sent a termination notice to the operators and investors of the Tigre de Cristal casino in Vladivostok, Russia, the stock of Genting Singapore has reportedly declined.

Is there a connection between the expected failure of the $116 million deal in Russia and the closure of the Circus Palace and Hollywood casino in Malaysia? It seems that this question will also be pending until further notice.