Mohegan Gaming partners up for Nagasaki IR bid
Mohegan Gaming partners up for Nagasaki IR bid
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The build up to a potential Nagasaki Integrated Resort (IR) bid is getting interesting. Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment have announced a partnership with Oshidori International Development, a local firm, to pursue a coveted casino bid. The casino operator announced the partnership in a January 27 press release.
The two companies emphasized their intention to create a “dynamic community for Nagasaki to become a premium travel destination and premier residential choice.”
Oshidori CEO and Chariman Alex Yemenidjian, formerly CEO of MGM Resorts, celebrated the partnership. “Through our joint bid, we aim to highlight the rich culture and diversity of the Nagasaki area, and look forward to the positive impact this project will have on the entire Kyushu region.”
January 13, 2021, 11:08 am ·
According to the Japanese newspaper The Nagasaki Shimbun, three casino resort operators express their interest in establishing an IR in the Japanese prefecture. From those three, two operators is based in the United States and one is in Asia.
At the moment, there is no official comment from the provincial officials on the newspaper report.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were three other casino resort operators that declared interest in the summer. They were Japan’s Current Corp; a Japan unit of Casinos Austria International Holdings GmbH; and Hong Kong-listed Oshidori International Holdings Ltd.
In November last year, Tokyo-listed Pixel Companyz Inc said that its main focus is on the Nagasaki prefecture and its pursuit of a Japanese casino licence. For that end, the company gathers a consortium.
Japan’s Nagasaki prefecture began on Thursday - as pledged - its request-for-proposal (RFP) process regarding the possibility of getting a casino resort there.
January 28 is the deadline for submitting application documents, with a resort operating partner to be chosen in “summer – autumn” this year, and any resort built, to open in the “mid- to late-2020s,” according to a memo released by the prefecture’s Integrated Resort Promotion Division.
“Inquiries regarding the application guidelines from prospective applicants will be accepted via email until January 15th, 2021,” added an official in an email to GGRAsia in response to our enquiry.
“We expect to have the IR operator selected at a time between summer and autumn of 2021,” added the person, referring to an integrated resort (IR) the term used in Japan for large-scale tourism complexes with a casino.
GGRAsia – Nagasaki to start casino RFP January 7, says governor ggrasia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ggrasia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Prospective casino resort developers in Japan now know the rules of the game and cities and prefectures can begin the bidding process. Japan has finalised a basic casino policy, including standards for the selection of up to three casino developers, Inside Asian Gaming reported. The policy aims to attract 60 million tourists a year by 2030 to spark a tourist boom. The government has set protocols for meeting with local governments and operators that will host a casino as well as measures for preventing the spread of disease. The national government will now accept casino plans from local governments from October of next year to April 2022.