New bilingual website launches
Caesars Entertainment President and CEO Mark Frissora recently toured Japan in a sign that the U.S. company is still committed to winning one of the first integrated resort licenses in the country.
According to Asia Gaming Brief, which covered the tour, Caesars is “among the front rank of international IR operators seeking a license in Japan.”
During his visit, Frissora stopped in Osaka to meet with Governor Ichiro Matsui and Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura. Last month Caesars became an official partner with Osaka in its bid to host the 2025 World Expo in Yumeshima, next to the planned site for the integrated resort.
Caesars isn’t the only official partner; it joins three other global gaming operators in the campaign: Melco Resorts & Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, and Hard Rock International.
To further demonstrate its interest, Caesars has launched a bilingual webpage about its Japan crusade, reported AGB; MGM and Melco also have an online presence in the country.
At a press conference in Tokyo, Frissora announced that the company has committed US$250,000 for responsible gaming initiatives in Japan—a plan that should endear Caesars to Japanese lawmakers concern about the social ills that may accompany casinos. The company also presented a video for a Caesars IR in Tomakomai, Hokkaido.
In related news, AGB reported “an overall decline” in Japan’s pachinko and pachislot business as evidenced by a decrease in revenue for Okura Holdings. The pachinko and pachislot company reported a drop of 0.6 percent for the six months that ended on December 31.
“It is likely that the attractiveness of the pachinko and pachislot machines to customers, especially young customers, and the profitability of the operation of such machines will be adversely affected going forward,” the company stated.
