Poker Writer
Planet Hollywood Resorts International announced this week that it has chosen Tbilisi, Georgia, as a location for a new integrated casino resort, the first in the Caucasus nation. The resort is planned to have a 1,200-room, two-tower complex with a 50,000-square-foot casino. Its opening will create up to 2,000 jobs.
The new resort will be the sixth for Planet Hollywood, which also has properties in Cancun, Costa Rica, India, and the flagship one in Las Vegas.
Founder of Planet Hollywood, Robert Earl, shared his thoughts on the expansion to the new market:
This represents a defining step in the continued global evolution of the Planet Hollywood brand. Tbilisi is a city with extraordinary character and momentum. Together with our partners, we are creating a destination that brings together entertainment, hospitality, and immersive experiences in a way that is both ambitious and authentic to the market.
The exact timeframe for the resort will be announced in the coming months.
First Casino Resort in Georgia
Currently, Georgia has only small casinos. They are mostly catered toward Turkish tourists who visit to get away from the strict anti-gambling laws of Turkey. The current largest one in the country is Casino Adjara in Tbilisi. The coastal city of Batumi on the Black Sea has the most casinos, with five.
But Planet Hollywood will be the first integrated resort with non-gambling amenities like a hotel, shopping, dining, and entertainment.
There are five poker rooms listed in Georgia, split between Tbilisi and Batumi. Only five tables are listed by Poker Atlas, so it’s not clear how many are available at some of the rooms. But the scene seems comparatively tiny, no surprise in a nation that has not produced many poker players of note.
Regional Casino Expansion in Former Soviet Republics
Planet Hollywood Tbilisi will face regional competition from neighboring Azerbaijan. Sea Breeze Resort is set to open soon, 30 minutes outside of the capital city of Baku. It has a target opening for 2026, although no official date has been set yet. The “world-class resort city” will be the world’s fifth-largest of its kind.
Another former Soviet Republic is looking to casino expansion as a means to increase tourism as well. Kazakhstan recently authorized new casino regions in an effort to boost the industry for foreign visitors.
Meanwhile, the tiny neighboring country of Kyrgyzstan recently legalized gambling in some forms in 2022 for foreigners only after decades of strict anti-gambling laws. Just this week, Kyrgyzstani authorities arrested a local town councilor for running an illegal underground casino in the Osh Region.
Overall, the region is not a major center for casinos or gambling.
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan strictly forbid gambling with the laws of both countries, believing it to be a social ill.
Turkmenistan has a single slot-casino in Ashgabat that caters to foreign visitors from nearby Muslim countries who cannot gamble in their home nations.
