KHUJAND, July 19, 2011, Asia-Plus -- A reliable source says the Kyrgyz authorities have suspended operations of the Shangri-La Casino located on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border and which was very popular among residents of northern Tajikistan.

The reason for suspension of the casino operations is unknown, but according to some sources, the casino operations were suspended following a ruling handed down by a chief prosecutor of Kyrgyz Batken oblast.

Established in January 2010, the Shangri-La Casino is located on borders of three countries – Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.  It is located some 22 kilometers of Khujand, the capital of the Tajik northern Sughd province, 170 kilometers of Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and 120 kilometers of Batken (Kyrgyzstan).

The casino belongs to Storm International gaming, which was founded in 1992 as an international casino operating and management company.  At present Storm International reportedly have several projects at various stages of development all over the world: Shangri La Casino in Minsk (Belarus), Yerevan (Armenia) and in Khujand (Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan), X.O. at Shangri La Casino in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), slot halls branded Storm Casino in Germany, two Hollywood Entertainment complexes in Monterrey (Mexico).  In Moscow the Company is expanding its restaurant operations: Radio City Bar & Kitchen entertainment complex, Mon Cafe, Balaganovv beer restaurant.

Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. In the book, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia — a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. In the novel Lost Horizon, the people who live at Shangri-La are almost immortal, living years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly aging in appearance. The word also evokes the imagery of exoticism of the Orient.