MGM Resorts International, the largest operator of casinos on the Las Vegas Strip and also licensed in Macau, China, is further expanding its international portfolio via Japan and Osaka.
Japan's central government on Friday signed a tender jointly run by Osaka Prefecture and MGM to build a sprawling integrated resort (IR) on Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay.The project has a ¥530 trillion (US$1 billion) price tag on a blueprint that includes 800 million square feet of indoor space.
In 2018, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party was urged by late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to legalize commercial casinos.Abe thought it would be in the national interest to grow leisure tourism to Asian countries.
Abe's successors have inherited the casino's mission. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who took office in October 2021, hopes Osaka's casinos will attract first-time and repeat visitors to Japan.Besides its reputation as an internationally known place of business, it is hoped that it will give a better idea of what the country has to offer.
カジノが日本の魅力を世界に発信する観光拠点になることを期待しています」と岸田は宣言した。The powerful LDP pushed through the game bill on the final day of 2018, despite opposition from the public and opposition in the Diet.The news caught the attention of some of the world's largest casino operators as it announced to the world that Japan would enter the legal casino market.
Years of cumbersome rule-making in Japan, plus the outbreak of the pandemic, have forced most companies to give in to Japan.But MGM, which was among the first to show interest in the Land of the Rising Sun, had offices four years before Japan's gaming bill passed, and was firmly committed to entering the world's 4th most populous nation.
Green Light at MGM Osaka
Under Japan's 2018 Gambling Law, the central government awarded as many as three IR licenses in competitive bidding that once involved numerous prefectures such as Yokohama and Nagasaki, as well as global casino companies such as Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts. can now be issued.However, two bids were made in the end.
Nagasaki Prefecture, along with MGM Osaka, pitched a casino plan to the central government jointly with Casino Austria.Japan's casino selection committee has yet to recommend approval of the Nagasaki plan due to funding issues.
MGM's longtime CEO Jim Maren had his eyes on Osaka as early as 2014. MGM's unwavering commitment to Osaka confirms Marlen's comments years ago to make Osaka Japan's first 'integrated resort'.
MGM Resorts is leading a consortium with its primary partner in Japan, Orix Corporation.ORIX is a comprehensive financial services group headquartered in Osaka.
MGM and Oryx are 81/40 partners on the $40 billion plan.The remaining 20% are made up of 20 Japanese companies, including Panasonic, Kansai Electric Power and West Japan Railway Company.
IR details
MGM Osaka aims to open in 2029.The facility is expected to attract 2,000 million visitors annually (1,400 million domestic tourists and 600 million overseas tourists) and generate approximately $40 billion in annual revenue.
Early projections indicate that most of this income will come from games.
CBRE Equity Research gaming analyst John Decree told Casino.org Friday morning that MGM Osaka's casino floor could generate $32 billion in gross gaming revenue annually.Decree also believes that the day may come when Japan's casino industry overtakes Singapore, as Osaka has a monopoly on Japanese casinos.
大阪は東京から飛行機で90分、新幹線で2時間の距離にあり、MGMは数年間、他の国内カジノの選択肢がない中で、さらに多くの人口を獲得することができる」とDeCreeは述べています。
MGM Osaka will be built on a vast 122-acre vacant lot in Yumeshima.Blueprints that include casinos, hotels, convention spaces, retail stores, and many other facilities and attractions.
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