Up until recently, Osaka was the front-runner in the race for the hosts of Japan’s first integrated casino resorts. However, a number of major casino operators in recent months abandoned their development plans for the city to focus their efforts elsewhere.
Las Vegas gaming and hospitality powerhouse Wynn Resorts was the latest major company to confirm that it was no longer interested in pursuing development opportunities in Osaka and would instead look for another host of its integrated resort, should it get so lucky to win one of the three casino licenses up for grabs from the Japanese government.
Gambling news outlet Asia Gaming Brief reported over the weekend that a spokesperson for Wynn Resorts has said the company was no longer interested in Osaka as the host city of its potential integrated resort and has instead focused its attention to the Kanto region, which among other major cities, includes the Japanese capital Tokyo.
The casino operator’s spokesperson told the Asia Gaming Brief that they are “grateful for the many months of positive dialogue we have enjoyed with the city of Osaka and its citizens, and we appreciate the gracious hospitality we have received from them.”
The statement went on:
“Although we have decided not to pursue an Integrated City Resort in Osaka at this time, we wish the city the very best and look forward to following its continued success. Wynn Resorts is currently focused on the Kanto area.”
Osaka Losing Its Appeal
As mentioned above, many believed that Osaka would be the first integrated resort host to be announced by the Japanese government. The city’s bid to become home to one of the country’s first properties of this kind saw strong support from city and prefecture officials, which was interpreted as a very good sign for the success of that bid.
However, Yokohama’s recent announcement that it would enter the integrated resort race in a bid to boost its economy resulted in some of the major developers that previously expressed massive interest in Osaka dropping their plans for that city to pursue development opportunities in the new entry in the race.
Las Vegas Sands was the first to abandon its Osaka plan and to announced its commitment to Yokohama and Tokyo. Its rival Caesars Entertainment announced shortly after that it would no longer pursue expansion in Japan, which narrowed the race for the Osaka license to even fewer runners. Most recently, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, which had previously even discussed plans to relocate its headquarters to Osaka, said that it has decided to pursue development opportunities in Yokohama.
Wynn Resorts has been relatively mum on its exact plans for Japanese expansion. For instance, it has not provided any solid information on how much exactly it would spend on the development of its Japanese casino resort, but has indicated that it is ready to dig deep into its pockets.
Chris Gordon, President of Wynn Resorts Development Japan, said earlier this year that the company expects to spend more on its Japanese resort than what it had spent on its Wynn Palace property in Macau. That integrated resort opened doors in August 2016 with a $4.4 billion price tag. Mr. Gordon also revealed that they “would expect Japan to be the largest IR we have built.”
Source: Wynn Resorts confirms withdrawal from Osaka IR race, AGBrief.com
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