Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming February 2015 36 Feature Gaming in South Korea is set for a dramatic expansion Speaking through publicly traded subsidiary Genting Hong Kong, the Malaysia-based resort giant characterized the opening as “a new phase of the Group’s presence and participation in the Korean casino industry”. The centerpiece of that plan is a US$2.2 billion luxury residential and tourist-oriented commercial complex—gaming included, of course—the Group is pursuing through its listed Genting Singapore subsidiary, owner of Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa, and its partner in the new Hyatt casino, Chinese property conglomerate Landing International. Pending approvals from the local government, the partners have their sights set on breaking ground in the second quarter. Landing, too, like many deep-pocketed Chinese companies, sees South Korea as a springboard for diversification on a world stage. “The opening of Genting Jeju Casino marks a big step forward on the company’s development of integrated resort and tourism properties in the global markets,” said Landing Chairman Yang Zhi Hui. Those plans include the acquisition of a casino in another popular Korean tourism spot, the ski country of the northeast where the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held. Landing has earmarked $112 million to buy the Alpensia Casino at the Holiday Inn in Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province. Gangwon is home to the only casino in South Korea open to Koreans, Kangwon Land, which, not surprisingly perhaps, is also the largest and most lucrative casino in the country. South Korea saw visitation from China surge 51.5% from 2012 to 2013, and grow another 41% in 2014 to more than 6 million, according to the state-run Korea Tourism Organization. Including visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, the number of Chinese- speaking tourists is expected to surpass 7.4 million this year, accounting for more than half of all foreign arrivals. The country is already the third-most popular destination for mainland Chinese after Macau and Hong Kong, and they’re feeding a tourism industry whose income is expected to grow more than 21% this year to $17.6 billion, and the KTO says Chinese will comprise its biggest spenders. Rising Wave G enting Group Chairman Lim Kok Thay was in Jeju last month to herald a new era for South Korea as a go-to destination for the booming China travel market. The occasion was the ribbon-cutting for Genting Jeju Casino at the popular tourist island’s newly remodeled Hyatt Regency Jeju Hotel. It is the first new casino to open in the country in years. The hotel, appropriately overlooking the East China Sea, contains 223 rooms and suites along with a collection of new restaurants and leisure facilities. The casino, small by Macau or Manila or Singapore standards—29 table games and 16 slot machines—represents a modest US$117 million investment for Genting. But it is only the first fruit of a much larger vision for the country—one the national government in Seoul is now actively encouraging.