billion total investment
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority of Connecticut last week applied for a gaming license to operate an integrated casino resort near Incheon International Airport in South Korea, MTGA CEO Bobby Soper has confirmed to the New London Day.
Soper personally flew to South Korea two days before the deadline for applications November 27. In April, he signed a deal with the Incheon International Airport Corp. to develop a $1.6 billion entertainment city next to the airport, which serves more than 45 million visitors annually, reported the website CalvinAyre.com. The tribal authority plans to invest a total of $5 billion in the project that is expected to unfold in over 20 years.
If it wins a license, the tribe has pledged to open the first phase of the project in early 2020.
The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is expected to award up to three gaming licenses in 2016, including two in the Incheon area. More than 30 companies have expressed interest so far, including the Las Vegas Sands Corp., Genting, Galaxy Entertainment, Grand Korea Leisure, Naga Corp., SunCity, Imperial Pacific and Global Gaming Asset Management.
Mohegan Sun’s partner in the project is South Korean chemical company KCC Corp., which spent $176 million to acquire a 24.5 percent stake in Mohegan Sun’s local subsidiary, Inspired Integrated Resort Co.
Moody’s Investors Service VP Wan Yee Hoo looked askance at the partnership, reported CalvinAyre.com, saying KCC’s investment in the casino business, “if it materializes, will be a credit negative, given the casino project’s uncertainty and execution risk.”
Inspire will be located on a 324-hectare (800-acre) plot owned by IIAC. It will include three hotels with a total of 1,350 rooms, a theme park, an entertainment hall, a retail quarter, convention space and the foreigners-only casino. Under current South Korean law, residents of the country can gamble only at one local casino.
The government is expected to announce the winning bidders early next year.
