Cambodian casino operator NagaCorp says it’s not worried about the COVID-19 pandemic because the company believes its Phnom Penh casino monopoly will outlast the virus.

On Wednesday, NagaCorp issued a trading update on its performance over the first three months of 2020, during which gross gaming revenue at its NagaWorld facility in Cambodia’s capital rose 15% year-on-year to US$368.8m.

The Q1 gains were entirely due to the VIP segment, which saw turnover rise 18% to $9.7b, while VIP gross gambling revenue shot up by one-quarter to $270.2m. NagaCorp credited the surge to VIPs viewing Cambodia as having at least appeared to dodge the worst of the pandemic so far.

Mass market table games had a far more tepid quarter, with buy-ins and revenue both falling 1% from Q1 2019, due mainly to many Asia-Pacific nations restricting their citizens ability to travel due to the pandemic. This also impacted electronic gaming machine performance, which reported credits down 25% and revenue down 15%.