An integrated resort (IR) with casino on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay will likely not open until the second quarter of 2030, according to a newly revised timeline.
A project of MGM Resorts International and Orix Corp., the IR was approved by the central government in April, after a year of deliberations. As MGM Resorts CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle noted, that initial approval “was the big outstanding item to get across the finish line, and that’s been accomplished.
“We’re looking to break ground either late this year or first quarter next year and it’s between a four-and-a-half to five-year build,” he continued. “It’s probably going to open in the first or second quarter of 2030, so we’ve got some time to go.”
Hornbuckle described Japan as a “great opportunity” for MGM’s global ambitions.
“Osaka has approximately 30 million people within a three-hour transit time of our site in Yumeshima,” he said. “Our site in Osaka is also expected to drive international tourism to Japan given its proximity to other major Asian countries, and Osaka is closer to many northern Chinese cities than any other gaming market.”
The Osaka resort is expected to draw around 20 million visitors annually, 70 percent of them from outside Japan, and bring US$3.9 billion in annual economic benefits to the region.
A second IR coalition led by Casinos Austria proposed building a $3.2 billion resort complex in Sasebo City, Nagasaki. That bid is still under consideration.
