SOUTH KOREA

Japanese gamers drive Paradise City revenue

Sega Sammy and Paradise Co. are seeing a gradual ramp up in their Paradise City IR on Yeongjong Island, with increased visitation from Japan making up for the shortfall in Chinese arrivals due to last year’s travel ban.

The resort opened in April last year, a month after China put a halt to tour groups in retaliation for South Korea’s decision to instal a U.S. anti-missile system on its territory. Relations between the two countries have thawed, though according to reports, group travel from China to South Korea remains sluggish.

In its monthly sales report, Paradise Co. recorded a 65.9 percent surge in overall casino revenue for June reaching KRW57.6 billion (US$51.7 million).

While machine revenue stayed stable yearon-year, table games revenue contributed the most to the month’s growth, increasing 71.8 percent year-on-year to KRW54.6 billion.

The stellar results in June boosted the company’s revenue for the first six months of 2018 to a total of KRW296.3 billion, up 23.7 percent year-on-year.

The company doesn’t split out the performance of its IR in its monthly sales figures, though in its Q1 results, the company reported a 145 percent jump in casino sales at the IR to KRW55.6 billion, helped by Japanese VIPs.

The table drop from Japanese players rose to KRW512 billion from KRW375 billion in the fourth quarter, although the drop from China declined to KRW324 billion from KRW464 billion.

The results also showed the Paradise City IR already making up a sizeable portion of group income, accounting for KRW561 billion of the KRW1.48 trillion total. Paradise operates four foreigner-only casinos, including Paradise City.

Sega Sammy says it expects the second phase of the resort to open before the end of March next year. The Japanese company said the phase will include a club and a spa.

The Incheon area is expected to become home to three further integrated resorts, although progress so far has been slow.

Caesars Entertainment has teamed with Hong Kong-listed Guangzhou R&F Properties Co to invest more than KRW850 billion in a resort in Midan City on the island. The property will have 720 rooms and suites and boasts “never-before-seen features and creative amenities.” It will be Caesar’s first project in Asia and completion is slated for 2021.

Mohegan Sun is also taking its first steps in Asia in South Korea with plans for a $5 billion project. The tribal operator recently bought out its local partner and now holds 100 percent of Project Inspire, as it’s known.

The first phase of the integrated resort will cost $1.6 billion, and will feature 1,350 hotel rooms, a 20,000-square-foot casino with 1,500 slot machines and 250 table games, 15,000-seat theatre, retail shopping, amusement park, and multiple restaurants.

The property is on schedule to open in 2020.

Earlier this year, LongRunn International, a Chinese real estate and resorts developer, said it also agreed to construct a $4.5 billion property in the area. The company has agreed to buy a parcel of land for $80 million for the resort, which will be called Diamond City, Global Construction Review reports.

According to the company’s website, Diamond City is a new mixed development to be build on a 165,769m2 site comprising 740,925m2 of residences, a 7-star hotel, casino, office tower, retail mall, schools, medical and aesthetics centre, interactive world cultural avenue, K Pop hub and theme parks.

Yeongjong Island is the location of the Incheon International Airport, which is the gateway to South Korea and also a major Asian air hub. It’s about an hour by train from downtown Seoul.

The government is also planning to build the country’s largest cruise ship terminal in Incheon, which is set to open in April next year and should help boost visitation.

This will be the first time the Seoul metropolitan area will have a pier capable of handling large-scale cruise ships with the capacity to carry 5,000 to 6,000 passengers.

According to the Incheon Port Authority (IPA), it plans to operate the 114,000-ton cruise ship, Costa Serena, on the Incheon- Shanghai-Fukuoka-Busan route in partnership with Lotte Tour.

SIS to livestream KRA races

SIS (Sports Information Services) has reached an accord with Korean Racing Authority to broadcast live coverage of the action from two of the country’s racecourses, Busan and Seoul.

The agreement will allow SIS to provide pictures and data to retail and online bookmakers in the UK, Ireland, and Spain.

“We are delighted to have agreed terms with the Korean Racing Authority and to be able to supply further betting opportunities to our operator partners at key times,” said Simon Fraser, Head of International Horseracing at SIS Betting.

“I’ve no doubt racing fans will be very pleased with the quality of the racing on display and I’m confident the fast-paced action will also appeal to a host of new admirers as we promote it in Europe.”

“For SIS, this is another piece in the jigsaw as we look to create a quality, round-the-clock pictures and data product which gives operators options, no matter where they are in the world or the time of day.”

Lawmakers indicted in Kangwon Land scandal

Two lawmakers from the main opposition party in South Korea have been indicted in connection with a job placement scandal at Kangwon Land, local media reports.

Representatives Kweon Seong-dong and Yeom Dong-yeol were charged with abuse of power and business interference, but were not detained. They are accused of requesting illegal favors in the selection of trainees at the casino and exerting pressure for their acquaintances to be hired between November 2012 and April of 2013.

Last year, Kangwon Land admitted that between July 2011 and February 2014, 95 percent of all staff hired – some 493 people – were selected either for their political connections or because of their personal relationship to former CEO Choi Heung-jip.