Bucking the boycott
Jeju Shinhwa World in South Korea, which opened in February on Jeju Island in South Korea, has raked in US$300 million in profits in the six months since its opening. That’s more than twice the combined revenues generated by eight other casinos in the market.
According to Casino.org, since February Shinhwa World has generated five times the revenue of Incheon’s Paradise City, the biggest casino in South Korea. And some 350,000 foreigners have visited the resort since it opened.
Song Woo-seok, head of casino operations at the property, attributed Shinhwa’s success to its emphasis on high rollers. “In other casinos, only 15 percent of the tables are for VIPs, but at Shinhwa it’s half,” Woo-seok said. Jing Travel reports that the casino earns 80 percent of its revenues from the top-spending 5 percent of gamblers, wooed by free flights and hotel rooms.
The resort has also marketed heavily to other Asian countries in the region instead of relying mostly on Chinese visitors. Finally, Shinhwa’s nongaming attractions—including a convention center, retail district, theme parks and concert hall—has given it an edge over the competition.
A new rival may be waiting in the wings. Jeju Lotte Casino, recently acquired by the Lotte Tour Development Company, hopes to give Shinhwa a run for its money by transferring its gaming license to a new, foreigners-only casino now under construction. The 38-story Jeju Dream Tower is scheduled to open next fall. It will include a 1,600-room Grand Hyatt hotel.
