REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTOR AND PRESIDENT
Universal Entertainment Corp
POWER SCORE: 683
POSITION LAST YEAR: 37
CLAIMS TO FAME
- Heads only Japanese company to operate its own integrated resort
- Deposed Universal’s founder, Kazuo Okada, in 2017
HAVING ASSUMED control of Japanese gaming giant Universal Entertainment Corp following the ousting of company founder Kazuo Okada in 2017, Jun Fujimoto saw his old foe resume hostilities this year in a battle for Philippines integrated resort Okada Manila.
In May, a group representing Mr Okada stormed the property and seized control on the pretense of a court order demanding the board of Universal subsidiary Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc (TRLEI), which operates Okada Manila, be restored to its 2017 line-up.
The Okada occupation lasted three months, before Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR intervened – paving the way for the Universal backed board to forcibly reclaim control by means starkly similar to those through which they had lost it.
While Mr Okada has vowed to continue his fight, for now at least there seems to be some stability returning, with Okada Manila now fully operational for the first time since its December 2016 launch and the Philippines gaming market booming once again.
Next on the agenda is a US NASDAQ listing. TRLEI’s SPAC merger with Miami-based 26 Capital Acquisition Corp was also delayed due to Mr Okada’s intervention, but preparations have since resumed in a deal that would see the IR’s valuation soar.
Meanwhile, Universal maintains its place as one of Japan’s largest pachinko suppliers, but questions remain over that industry’s long-term viability amid regulatory and generational change.
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