Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming may enter the race to operate a casino in Japan.
CEO Keith Smith used the company’s fourth-quarter conference call to express Boyd interest in the Japanese market, where a bill to authorize casinos is expected to be approved in the national parliament this year.
“We’re always looking for ways to grow the business,” Smith said, adding that he and a development executive recently traveled to Tokyo to view the market.
“We’re investigating to see if it’s a good fit for us,” he said. “It’s very early in the process and the opportunity is in the exploratory phase.”
The scale of development in Japan isn’t known yet, but analysts say the market could quickly become the second-largest in the world, with two destination casinos, one each in Tokyo and Osaka, generating US$10 billion or more out of the gate.
An A-list of global operators have already begun angling for licenses, among them, Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International, Genting Group, Wynn Resorts, Melco Crown Entertainment, SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment Group and Caesars Entertainment.
Recently, Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson said he would spend $10 billion “or whatever it takes” to win a license.
Smith acknowledged that Boyd has missed out on international opportunities in the past, including Macau, because it was a small company. But, he added, “We’re much larger today than we were in the early 2000s.”
