The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which runs one of the largest casino resorts in the U.S., has announced plans to partner with the Incheon International Airport Corp. to develop and operate an integrated resort complex in South Korea.
The proposed complex would include a 1,000-room hotel with two towers, an amusement park, a private jet terminal, a 20,000-capacity performance arena, a retail corridor, 20 restaurants and a spa, among other amenities. They all would be located at the world’s eighth-largest airport, referred to as the gateway to Seoul. The facility serves 45 million customers a year.
The plan also includes an 18,500-square-meter (199,132-square-foot) casino with 250 table games and 1,500 slot machines. Like other gaming halls in South Korea, it would serve foreigners only. Of the country’s 17 casinos, only one permits locals to enter and play. But sources tell GGB that discussions are under way in the Korean government to open up the “foreigners’ only” casinos to locals, most likely with the Singapore model of daily or annual entrance fees.
Announced by both partners last month, the project would be located on 800 acres owned by the airport, dwarfing the 544-acre Mohegan reservation in Connecticut. It is the tribe’s first venture outside the U.S., where it has seen its expansion plans thwarted in New York, Massachusetts and Philadelphia. In addition to Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun, MTGA owns and operates Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and manages Resorts Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“We look forward to extending the unique Mohegan Sun brand, focused on unparalleled hospitality and guest experience, to Korea and providing a new, global customer base at a one-of-a kind, must-visit destination,” said Bobby Soper, president of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, in a statement.
The development team also includes Miura Holdings Asia, described as an investor in gaming, hotel and food and beverage in the U.S. and Asia.
The authority still needs to be approved for a gaming license by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Reuters reports that the partners would spend about $1.6 billion on the first phase of development, which could be complete by 2020. The complete resort complex would not be finished until 2040.
