Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming September 2014 42 in Gangwon, about 230 kilometers east of Seoul, was the winner. Kangwon Land, 51% owned by government entities, was formed in 1998 to restore the community’s economy and ecology. A small casino began taking bets in 2000, and a full-scale hotel, casino and theme park opened in 2003. The casino has grown from 30 table games at the outset to 200, with 1,360 slot machines, in an expansion completed in June of last year, all under the watchful eye of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Restrictions on the casino to discourage problem gaming have expanded over time as well, including a ban on Koreans entering the casino more than 15 days a month, and Kangwon Land runs rehabilitation centers for problem gamblers on site and in Seoul. To create a complete resort destination, Kangwon has added a convention hotel and attractions such as a ski resort, golf course and vacation homes under its High1 Resort brand. A US$150 million indoor-outdoor water park is due for a soft opening in the second half of 2016. Having the 2018 Winter Olympics in nearby Pyeongchang will bring new roads that will shave an hour or more off the now-harrowing three- and-a-half-hour drive from Seoul as well as highlight the region’s recreational charms. But for now Kangwon is all about gaming. Second-quarter gaming revenue grew 16.2% to KW355.6 billion, while table volume increased 9%, attributable to last year’s expansion, according to the company. Net profit rose 32.8% to KW123.6 billion. Non-gaming revenue, less than 7% of the total, fell 16.3%, which management attributed to cancellation of bookings during the national mourning period following the ferry sinking in April that left 302 people dead or missing. South Korea’s loosening of its policy on foreigners-only casino development is not expected to impact Kangwon Land as a gaming destination. With up to four times more players than seats on weekends and a vibe at the tables that one player compared to a factory assembly line, bettors are there because they have no other choice. If Korea lifts its ban on local players at other casinos, then all bets are off. Jack Lam has become the latest Macau junket operator to seek access to cheaper and more stable funding through the equities markets by conducting a backdoor listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Hong Kong-listed Sinogreen Energy International Group Ltd, a company trading in chemical and energy conservation products, announced in July that Mr Lam along with two British Virgin Islands-registered entities would buy 65.9% of its shares for HK$113.8 million. The deal comes at a time when Mr Lam and his junket rivals are reeling from a slowdown in Macau VIP revenues as credit tightens in mainland China and Beijing steps up its anti-corruption drive. Mr Lam’s Jimei Group is believed to rank among Macau’s top five junket operators by rolling chip turnover, and as a measure of his prominence he is one of the few junketeers to run a property in his own right, having taken over the Casino Oriental at the former Mandarin Oriental back in 2009 with the blessing of its owner, Stanley Ho’s Sociedade de Jogos de Macau. Located under the roof of the renamed Grand Lapa Macau, the refurbished and rebranded Jimei Casino operates as a “satellite” of SJM in exchange for a share of revenues. In addition to Grand Lapa, the 53-year-old Mr Lam sits atop an Jack Lam Chairman Jimei Group empire consisting of some of Macau’s leading VIP rooms and a diverse portfolio of investments in property, financial services, tour and travel, casino cruises, a resort in the Philippines, a junket room in one of Seven Luck’s popular foreigners-only casinos in Seoul and the addition last year of a VIP operation at Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila.