The biggest casino in the country to date opened in the central city of Da Nang on Tuesday.

The European-style casino occupies 15,000 square meters in the Silver Shores Da Nang resort, which has 548 5-star hotel rooms, 52 high-end villas facing the sea and a 20-hectare international conference center that can host 1,000 people.

It targets tourists from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Silver Shores is a joint venture that invested US$160 million in the resort at Khe My Ward in Ngu Hanh Son District.

Construction at the resort started in 2006.

China South Airlines has arranged two flights every Wednesday and Saturday to bring people from Guangzhou to the resort.

Silver Shores also plans to open an airline from Shanghai to Da Nang three months later.

Only people with foreign visas are allowed to enter casinos in Vietnam, including expats and overseas Vietnamese.

Reported by Huu Tra