Kangwon Land in South Korea is planning to triple the size of its casino by 2032 in a bid to draw more international tourists.
The US$1.9 billion project would expand the gaming floor by more than 530,000 square feet to “address the current chronic shortage of seats in the venue,” according to interim CEO Choi Cheol-Gyu.
According to Asia Gaming Brief, the expansion will also add more hotels with new VIP rooms; a sky bridge to the nearby High1 Ski and Golf Resort; and a helipad to serve VIPs.
All are meant to entice players to visit the resort complex, located in a rural mountainous region about three hours east of the capital city of Seoul. The only Korean casino open to locals will also increase its marketing outreach, with a goal to increase annual traffic from 6.8 million to 12 million visitors.
Choi said the expansion could fortify the resort against looming competition in Japan, where MGM Resorts is developing a multibillion-dollar integrated resort due to open in 2030. As he noted, the IR in Osaka will be located just 90 minutes away by air.
That means “Kangwon Land’s casino-for-locals monopoly status has effectively broken,” he continued. “Therefore, we’d like to invest in a concentrated manner to strengthen (our) global competitiveness.”
The plan also includes an increase of the maximum wagering limit to appeal to high rollers.
As reported by gaming website Yogonet, Kangwon Land will also add 3,400 employees; set a goal to increase non-gaming sales from 13 percent to 30 percent; and increase the volume of overseas visitors tenfold.
