Jeju Shinhwa World casino opening delayed: promoter

Jan 03, 2018 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Jeju Shinhwa World, a resort on South Korea’s Jeju Island, has confirmed to GGRAsia a further delay to the opening of its foreigner-only casino. It had been scheduled for January 18 this year but has now been postponed to a “later date”, its promoter Hong Kong-listed Landing International Development Ltd told us by email.

The firm didn’t specify a new date, but indicated it was still awaiting local government permission to “relocate” an existing casino at another Jeju venue to Jeju Shinhwa World.

“We have submitted our application to relocate our casino in Hyatt [Regency] Jeju to Jeju Shinhwa World to the Jeju government in December 2017. The Jeju government is currently processing our application and we expect the casino transfer to be approved by the Jeju government after the next sitting of the Jeju congress [sic] in February 2018,” a spokesperson from the firm wrote in the email. The “Jeju congress” referred to is the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Council that administers the semi-autonomous island.

Currently, Landing International is operating a casino with 28 gaming tables and 16 slots and electronic table games (ETG) at the Hyatt Regency Jeju Hotel. The firm intends to have 160 gaming tables and 240 slots and electronic table games at a foreigner-only casino planned for Jeju Shinhwa World. It is to be located at Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort, one of the hotels at the new complex.

Currently operating facilities at Jeju Shinhwa World include: the luxury hotels Jeju Shinhwa World Landing Resort (pictured), Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort and Somerset Jeju Shinhwa World; Landing Convention Centre; a K-pop themed zone called “YG Republique”; Shinhwa Theme Park, which opened at the end of September; and a shopping area branded as “Shinhwa Shoppes”.

Landing International refuted a media report that it had asked local employees to take leave in order to save costs, saying that they were merely asked to “clear annual leave at year end” as a “common market practice”.

“We will keep providing training to our casino staff before the opening of the casino in our resort [Jeju Shinhwa World],” the firm’s spokesperson noted, adding that the venue had so far hired almost 2,000 employees, including workers for the planned casino.

In November, Landing International noted to GGRAsia that the casino at Jeju Shinhwa World was likely to open at the end of 2017 rather than on December 8, as had been previously suggested in a press release in September.

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