South Korea’s Paradise Co and Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) both saw casino revenues soar in April in yet another positive step forward for the country’s long-suffering foreigner-only industry.
In filings with the Korea Exchange, Paradise reported casino revenue of KRW54.5 billion (US$40.9 million) in April, up 216% year-on-year and 30.1% higher than March.
The April result included table revenue of KRW50.7 billion (US$38.0 million) and machine revenue of KRW3.82 billion (US$2.87 million) – both up year-on-year and month-on-month – while table drop of KRW516.8 billion (US$388 million) was 21.5% higher than in March.
For the first four months of 2023 combined, casino revenue at Paradise Co’s four properties – Walker-hill, Jeju, Incheon Paradise City and Busan Casino – is up 166% to KRW188.9 billion (US$142 million) with table drop up 269% to KRW1.78 trillion (US$2.0 billion).
At GKL, casino sales grew 690% year-on-year and 17.9% sequentially to KRW45.6 billion (US$34.2 million) in April, including a better than 1,000% increase in table games revenue to KRW42.2 billion (US$31.7 million).
Year-to-date revenue is up 194% to KRW153.2 billion (US$115 million) thanks to a 167% increase in table drop to KRW1.05 trillion (US$788 million). Table drop in April was 182% higher year-on-year to KRW296.3 billion (US$222 million).
GKL runs three casinos in Seoul and Busan under the Seven Luck brand.