Razon also bought two nearby islands
Bloomberry Resorts will reopen its renovated Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino on Jeju Island, South Korea, sometime this month. It is the first phase of a multi-stage upgrade that is scheduled to complete by end of the year, according to the website Yogonet.com.
In a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange, Bloomberry revealed it controls 96.23 percent of the property. Ten percent is directly held by the company, and the remainder is held through its wholly-owned subsidiary Solaire Korea Co. Ltd.
The new property is Bloomberry’s first outside the Philippines, where it runs the massive Solaire Resort & Casino in Entertainment City. Bloomberry has expressed an interest in expanding Southeast Asia to absorb gamblers who no longer patronize Macau. “There are so many Chinese and despite the downturn in their economy, the impact will not obliterate the visitation of Chinese nationals to other countries,” said an unnamed Bloomberry spokesperson. “If you’ve been to Korea, you will appreciate that Chinese love to go to Korea to shop and play. This is not VIP but mass-to-premium mass market.”
“We are very excited to introduce Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino starting with the reopening of this world-class casino after only less than four months,” said Bloomberry Chairman and CEO Enrique Razon. “This is our first operation overseas property and we exerted much effort to put in place the ambiance and amenities that would enrich the gaming experience.” The resort will have 208 rooms and 2,125 square meters (23,000 square feet) of gaming and dining space.
According to Nikkei.com, Bloomberry has signed separate deals to buy nearby Silmi and Muui islands. Both are part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone, which is being developed by the South Korean government for international business, tourism and gambling.
