Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JAN 2020年1月 亞博匯 56 JAPAN Yumeshima Island, the planned site for an Osaka IR 夢洲是大阪IR的候選落腳地。 W ith Las Vegas Sands, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Wynn Resorts and Caesars Entertainment Corp having all pulled the plug on Osaka, there are now just three operators vying to develop what will almost certainly be Japan’s first IR. MGM Resorts, Galaxy Entertainment Group and Genting Singapore all bring strong track records to the table, albeit with each having enjoyed success in vastly different markets around the world. Likewise, all are considered to have different strengths and weaknesses. MGM boasts a globally recognized brand and has arguably been the most active of any company – publicly at least – in Japan over the past five years. Galaxy is one of the two dominant market leaders in Macau, the world’s casino capital – and has cash reserves most rivals can only dream of. Genting Singapore is one of just two operators in Singapore, a jurisdiction envied by the Japanese for the perceived benefits of its tight regulations. There were in fact seven operators vying for Osaka when the clock ticked over into 2019, but that all changed in August when Yokohama declared itself an official IR candidate city. Within just a few months LVS, Melco and Wynn had all abandoned their Osaka plans to target Yokohama instead, while Caesars withdrew from Japan altogether to focus instead on its US domestic operations amid a US$17.3 billion merger with Eldorado Resorts. So who will enjoy the honor of becoming Japan’s first IR operator? Perhaps we can find some clues by taking a look over what these companies did in 2019.