Sales surpassed KRW 20 trillion
Next month Paradise Co. Ltd. and Japanese pachinko operator Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. will open their new Paradise City resort near Incheon Airport. The KRW1.3 trillion (US$1.1 billion) complex is South Korea’s first integrated resort.
According to the Asia Gaming Brief, Paradise City will open with a 711-room hotel, convention halls and the country’s largest foreigner-only casino with 154 game tables, 281 slot machines and four electronic table games with more than 60 seats.
Phase II of the development, which is scheduled for completion in 2018, will add “commercial facilities and a premium spa,” reported AGB.
“Paradise City will deliver a best-ever resort experience to every visitor with highly sophisticated spaces integrating art and entertainment, and world-class hospitality,” Sega Sammy said in a release.
The resort will open as South Korea enjoys a surge in gaming revenue. In 2016, for the second consecutive year, South Korea’s casino sector grew 7.7 percent year-on-year to reach KRW20.3 trillion (US$17.6 billion), according to the National Gambling Control Commission.
South Korea’s 16 foreigners-only casinos contributed KRW1.2 trillion, and state-operated Gangwon Land—the only place locals can legally play—reported KRW1.7 trillion in sales. Lottery ticket sales also grew 9.3 percent on-year for a total of KRW3.9 trillion.
Experts says the boom is due to more people trying to get lucky amid the country’s economic downturn and a slump triggered by the 2015 outbreak of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome.
Tourism to the country may be hard hit by a ban on Chinese travel to the country. The Chinese government has ordered travel agencies to stop selling package products to Korea.
