Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, the casino operator of the Mohegan Tribe, revealed details about its Japan expansion vision this past Friday.
During a press event, the company’s CEO, Mario Kontomerkos, discussed their plans for entering the nascent Japanese casino market. The gaming and hospitality operator eyes the City of Tomakomai in Hokkaido as the potential host of its property.
The Japanese government is set to issue three licenses for the development of casino resorts around the country. While the race has not officially begun, many provinces and territories have already expressed interest in hosting a resort with a gaming floor, with the island of Hokkaido being one of them.
Mr. Kontomerkos said Friday that his company plans to build an integrated resort with three hotel towers, a conference hall, and an arena, should they win one of the three licenses up for grabs. The Mohegan resort will be located in a forested area of Tomakomai and will feature different facilities for guests to enjoy horse riding and cross-country skiing, and farming, among other outdoor activities.
The property will cost Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion. It is expected to employ between 5,000 and 7,000 people permanently.
Celebrating Indigenous Cultures
If the US tribal gambling operator wins the bid for one of the three casino licenses, it also plans to build a unique museum celebrating the cultures of both the Mohegan Tribe, one of two federally recognized tribes in Connecticut, and the indigenous Ainu people of Japan.
Commenting on their plans to develop their integrated resort in a forested area near Tomakomai, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment’s CEO said that his company has experience in operating a resort in a natural environment similar to that it has been eyeing for its Japan expansion.
The tribal operator potentially entering the Japanese gaming market would not represent its first foray into the Asian casino gambling space. The company is gearing up for the start of construction of a luxury integrated resort in Incheon, South Korea. Part of the property is expected to become operational in 2021, with a second phase slated to launch in 2022.
It is also important to note that Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment will see quite some competition in its bid to obtain a license for the development of a resort in Hokkaido. Fellow US operators Hard Rock International and Rush Street Gaming have too revealed plans to expand in that part of Japan.
Earlier this year, Hard Rock unveiled details about its resort, saying that its Japan plan includes a guitar-shaped hotel, an event venue, Broadway-style theaters, wellness facilities, a Four Seasons-branded resort, and 215,000 square feet of retail and fine dining space, among others.
Similarly to the Mohegan bid, Hard Rock will look to celebrate the indigenous Ainu people with an “authentic Ainu village experience, designed to help raise awareness for the local indigenous Ainu people.”
Late last year, Rush Street Gaming opened an office in Tomakomai, its first one in Japan. The company said back then that it was solely interested in Hokkaido as the potential host of its integrated resort.
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