Officials of the city of Da Lat in Central Highlands, Vietnam, publicly announced on Thursday February 9, their intention to construct a new casino, a night market and install a pedestrian-only street as part of plans to improve the nighttime economy.
The new casino will be located in the Valley of Love, a famous tourist destination, especially for newlyweds because of the outstanding mountain views. But it’s still unknown if the casino will be foreign-only or host locals as one of a handful of casinos around the country potentially allowed to host Vietnamese customers.
However, officials are awaiting formal approval from Lam Dong Provincial authorities for their casino application where they have chosen 16 potential casino sites that would make up their 2023-30 night economy, which will allow them to put their plan into action, starting with the construction of this first casino in Da Lat.
Layout of the proposed casino:
The new casino will offer a 900-meter-long food court near Hoang Van Thu Lake and a 1.6-kilometer pedestrian-only street that will connect the intersection of Dinh Tien Hoang and Tran Quoc Toan Street with the Da Lat Flower Garden in the city center.
It will also have a new night market that will replace the existing one, which is known as “Hell Market” and is always cramped throughout weekends and public holidays.
The market will consist of souvenir stalls, typical Da Lat goods, street food and places for cultural and recreational activities such as artwork, painting, magic shows and dance.
In addition to the casino and market, the new facility will involve nightclubs and shops among other entertainment venues.
An attempt to improve the night economy:
The main goal of Da Lat officials is to improve the night economy by constructing this casino as mentioned above, especially although it is known for its colonial legacy, the city is not very famous among foreign visitors due to limited transport and tourist services.
What’s more, CNN also named it one of the “18 most underrated places in Asia.”
However, this is not the case with other Vietnamese cities such as Hanoi, HCMC, Ha Long, Nha Trang, and Can Tho as they already provide entertainment, cultural and shopping experiences until late at night.
One casino is allowed to host locals:
So far, only one Vietnamese casino, Corona Resort & Casino in Phu Quoc, has been permitted to host locals under a three-year trial program, which debuted in 2019. According to the program, locals should be at least 21, earn at least VND10 million (US$430) and pay the gambling ticket.
However, the Ministry of Finance is currently looking to expand that program and extend it to two newest casinos, located in Da Nang City and Khanh Hoa Province.