Phase I to cost $1.6 billion
Representatives of U.S.-based tribal casino operator Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment are planning to meet with officials of South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism this month the company’s multibillion-dollar Inspire resort, now under construction next to Incheon International Airport.
“The most important next step as it relates to the Inspire development is a meeting that we’ll be having with the MCST in late August and into early September,” said the Mohegans’ Chief Financial Officer Drew Kelly in a recent call with analysts.
“We are preparing a set of information for them which we believe will be well received and will otherwise speak to the unique aspect of this truly integrated resort and how it will be a dominant property in the market,” he said. “As a product of that, we’ll be providing an update on the financing structure.”
Kelly said he and other company executives will spend “the balance of the remaining portion” of 2018 in Asia, “making sure that we’re successful both with the meeting with the MCST and with our financing partner.”
The gaming operator will invest US$1.6 billion in Phase I of Inspire, which is due to open in 2021. It will include a 15,000-seat entertainment arena, three hotels with a total of 1,000 rooms, more than 11,000 square meters (118,400 square feet) of event space and a retail district. The casino, which will be open to foreigners only casino, will have a floor area of 25,000 square meters with 180 gaming tables and 700 slot machines.
Kelly said the upcoming meetings in South Korea is a matter of “checking all the boxes. And then thereafter, we’ll have a very crystal-clear picture as to the exact timing” of the development. He expects the financing to be in place by the end of 2018.
In related news, South Korean gaming operator Paradise Co. has reported a narrowing of its net loss in the second quarter thanks to an increase in gaming revenue, reaching KRW 4.6 billion (US$4.1 million), reported CDC Gaming Reports. The group reported strong non-Chinese VIP business, and said higher visitation by Japanese VIPs compensated for weak Chinese demand.
Foreigners-only casino Kangwon Land, on the other hand, posted a 9.2 percent decline in sales in the second quarter, reaching KRW 338.7 billion. The decline was caused by a fall in gaming and non-gaming revenue of 9.1 and 9.5 percent, respectively. Net profit fell 14.4 percent to KRW 94.6 billion, GGRAsia reported.
