Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming February 2015 38 of two new destination-scale resorts with casinos this year encompassing an additional 5,000 hotel rooms and KRW300 billion of investment (US$275 million) in four new duty-free shopping areas, three in Seoul and one in Jeju, which could be expanded further based on growth in foreign tourism. The country’s 16 metropolitan-area duty free shops have seen their revenue rise from KRW3 trillion in 2011 ($2.76 billion) to KRW4.4 trillion October last year. Encouraged by this new liberalism, two integrated resorts with casinos are already in development in a special economic zone on Yeongjong island, the site of Incheon International Airport, the main gateway for foreign arrivals, located about 30 kilometers from Seoul. The first, a joint venture between Paradise Group, the leader of the foreigners- only market, and Japanese pachinko giant Feature The Alpensia Ski Resort , home to the Alpensia Casino at the Holiday Inn in Pyeongchang. The Hyatt Regency Jeju 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. Sega Sammy is slated to open in 2017 at an initial cost of US$750 million. The second, a joint venture similarly priced and led by US casino operator Caesars Entertainment, struck a $95 million deal late last year to acquire land for a resort scheduled to break ground in the zone this year ahead of a planned opening in 2018. Global names of the likes of Las Vegas Sands are taking a hard look at the market, albeit with reservations about the prohibition on domestic play, but outside interest from other groups is definitely on the upswing. Hong Kong-based retail and property conglomerate Chow Tai Fook Enterprises is one, and in November the conglomerate signed a letter of intent with Incheon City to build in Yeongjong. Operators could be selected in the latter half of this year for the two resorts sanctioned under the new investment rules. Groundbreakings would follow shortly after with a view to openings in 2020. In all, the government forecasts the investments will stimulate the economy by more than US$23 billion, unleashing investment spending of KRW16.8 trillion (US$15.5 billion) on projects already earmarked while attracting another KRW8.5 trillion won in investment in new businesses related to tourism and supporting infrastructure.