Sands: “whatever it takes” to break into S. Korea
A second locals casino in South Korea will “destroy the country,” warned an international gaming expert speaking at the recent G2E Asia trade show in Macau.
David Jung, chairman of Hero Poker, told the Korea Herald that permitting a casino in a highly populated urban area is not just unwise, but a “dangerous idea.”
“If they ever announce that they will open another casino like Kangwon Land in Seoul for Koreans, I will write one-page letter to newspapers,” said Jung, in an interview reported by the Asia Gaming Brief. “It would destroy Korea.
“The problem is Koreans like to gamble, and how they gamble is different. Being very emotional, they are either happy or sad, excited or angry… Every time they have those emotions, they bet more,” Jung said.
Proponents of locals casinos take the opposite view, and see the Korean appetite for gambling as a virtual guarantee of success for any casino that opens its doors to nationals. The government is currently looking for ways to grow the tourism industry by introducing integrated casino resorts on Yeongjongdo Island near Incheon International Airport and a casino cruise line that would be open to locals as well as foreigners.
Kangwon Land, located in remote, mountainous Gangwon Province, is currently the only casino in South Korea where Koreans are allowed to gamble. It accounts for $1.7 billion of the country’s total gross gaming revenue of about $2.8 billion, reported AGB.
“Kangwon Land is the most profitable casino per square foot in the entire world. That one casino is (generating) the same revenue as 12 to 13 other foreign casinos, amazing,” said Jung.
His concerns may be moot at this point. Recently Glenn Burm, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers Korea told AGB the government is unlikely to license a second locals casino until Kangwon Land’s monopoly expires in 2025.
“It would be really hard to reopen the discussion until then we believe, because someone really has to come up new legislation to open up the discussion, special legislation,” he said.
However, some operators are staying committed to the idea of developing a new locals-permitted resort. In March, George Tanasijevich, managing director of global development for the Las Vegas Sands Corp., said the firm will do “whatever it takes” to break into the market.
“Korea is a top destination for us,” said Tanasijevich. “We believe so strongly. We proposed some ideas for consideration so that people would understand what level of interest we have and how committed we are to investing in Korea.”
