Could Korea be the next gambling jewel in the crown of Northeast Asia?

Korea is set to expand as a hub of culture and tourism in Northeast Asia with a new casino resort spearheaded by Caesar’s.

The resort complex, home of Incheon International Airport, is under construction in Yeongjong-do, by Las Vegas based Caesar Entertainment and expected to open in 2021. The $700 million Resort Complex will consist of a luxury hotel with more than 700 rooms, a foreigner only casino, convention facilities, live entertainment area, signature spa and a swimming pool.

William Shen, the group’s Senior Vice President and Managing director for Korea and Japan said the company is aiming for a “balanced” gaming revenue mix at the resort’s foreigner-only casino.

He said: “Incheon airport is a really, really busy airport with all kinds of flight traffic from many parts of the world. So that’s part of the traffic that we want to capitalise on,”

He added that Chinese and Japanese visitors would be the main targets for the new complex.

At the same time the Inspire Resort Complex next to Incheon International Airport, is under construction led by Connecticut based Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment (MGE) and set to open in 2022. The resort complex will include a luxury hotel with over 1,250 rooms, foreigners-only casino, and indoor and outdoor theme parks. It will also include an entertainment arena with a 15,000 capacity, staging Las Vegas-level fantastic performances all year round. It is expected to significantly contribute to the new wave of Korean entertainment and tourism.

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority expects the resort complex businesses to generate over 20,000 new jobs and produce KRW2 trillion (USD1680 million) annually. The resort complex industry is also expected to invigorate the regional economy and development of the meetings industry.

The first resort complex in Korea, Paradise City, opened in April 2017 and comprises a 5-star hotel with 711 rooms, the largest foreigners-only casino in Korea, and a convention hall that can accommodate 1,600 people. In September 2018 expanded to include a boutique hotel with 58 suite rooms, a spa blended with Korean dry sauna culture, the largest recreation club in Northeast Asia, and an art exhibition space. Further expansion in March 2019, created the the Wonder Box, an indoor theme park with the concept of an ‘amusement park in the evening,”

The city however, faces competition from new resorts planned in Japan after the country legalised casinos ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

But Mr Shen said this did not pose a problem and is confident that there is a large enough market to accommodate all new casinos as the Chinese visitor market to South Korea and Japan has continued to grow over the past 10 years.