Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JUN 2021年6月 亞博匯 36 COVER STORY year extension to the opening deadline. Guangzhou R&F has been given an additional 12 months instead. It’s a sobering reality for a city that had attracted 34 expressions of interest and six submissions when an open tender for two IR licenses was first announced in January 2015. “Since the casinos are foreigner-only, these resorts really need to target domestic travel, catering to families and staycations to be successful,” says He Poda. “Paradise City is art and K-pop themed, and I believe the original concept was to attract inter- Asia K-pop fans through weekend concerts, art, culture and weekday MICE with its connectivity to the airport. COVID changed all of this and they are really struggling. “Mohegan’s concept (if it is to remain this way) with waterparks, geo-nature hiking trails and a sustainability -themed resort I believe will resonate with families attracting both international and domestic travel. “Both resorts will need to diversify into more entertainment programming to be successful.” Inevitably, China remains the key to any recovery of Korea’s foreigner-only casino industry. And, despite recent trials and tribulations, all is not lost on that front. According to Klebanow, it may only take some minor tweaking for South Korea to fall off China’s regional blacklist radar. “Korea’s proximity to China and Japan is an advantage, although I think it may take two years to see a significant turnaround.” – Yona He Poda 「儘管我認為可能還需要兩年 才能看到明顯的好轉，但韓國 毗鄰中國及日本是一個優勢。」 ——Yona He Poda