Three resorts planned for Incheon
Developers of the Paradise City casino resort in Incheon, near Seoul, South Korea, is set to open in April 2017, the developers have announced.
GGRAsia reported on a construction update from partners Paradise Co Ltd. and Japanese pachinko operator Sega Sammy Holdings Inc., who are building the US$1 billion resort. It is being touted as the nation’s first truly integrated resort.
The development, which broke ground in 2014, covers 330,000 square meters (3.55 million square feet). Phase I will include a foreigners-only casino with 160 live table games, 378 electronic table games and 350 slot machines, as well as hotel and convention facilities. Phase II will add a spa and a boutique hotel. The resort is expected to benefit from its location, just minutes away from Incheon International Airport.
It will be the first of three casino resorts proposed for Incheon. The others include Inspire, a project of the U.S.-based Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and South Korean chemicals manufacturer KCC Corp., which is scheduled to open in 2020; and an as-yet unnamed project by U.S. casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. and Hong Kong-listed real estate developer Lippo Ltd.
South Korea has 17 casinos, all of which prohibit locals gambling except Kangwon Land in a remote mountainous area of Gangwon Province. While the only casino serving Korean nationals continues to see “solid growth,” according to Fitch Ratings, the others saw collective gaming revenue decline by 10 percent in 2015. Fitch blamed the drop on fewer Chinese players due to Mainland China’s ongoing corruption crackdown and slowing economy.
According to the Asia Gaming Brief, Paradise saw casino sales in May fell 14.3 percent to 59.8 billion won (US$51.2 million), with table games down 14.8 percent and machines down 2.6 percent. The table drop generated in May at its four casinos fell 18.6 percent year-on-year to 411.54 billion won.
