Two months after shelving plans to pursue an integrated resort in Osaka, Las Vegas gaming and hospitality giant Wynn Resorts is now adopting a “Yokohama Focus” in its Japanese expansion campaign.
Wynn is one of the many major international companies to have expressed interest in bidding for one of the three casino licenses that will be up for grabs as part of Japan’s casino gambling legalization effort.
The company previously explored partnerships and development opportunities in Osaka, but dropped any plans it had related to that city in October. In a statement, the company said that while it had enjoyed “many months of positive dialogue” with the city of Osaka and its citizens, it has shifted its focus on the Kanto area, Japan’s wealthiest region that includes the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area.
In a press release that hit the wire on Wednesday, Wynn CEO Matt Maddox said that they have been “carefully investigating and studying candidate sites all over Japan”, and since “Yokohama already has many attractive tourist facilities, and its MICE facilities have a high potential” they are now focused on pursuing development opportunities in that city.
New Yokohama Office
Mr. Maddox also said that Wynn Resorts Development Japan, the company’s Japanese arm, is set to open its new office this coming Sunday, December 15. The new office will be located on the 18th floor of Yokohama Landmark Tower, within Yokohama’s Minato Mirai, a waterfront urban area in the city’s central part whose name means harbor of the future.
Wynn was the latest international company to abandon its plans to develop an integrated resort with dedicated casino gaming space in Osaka and to focus its attention on Yokohama instead.
The latter city first placed its bet on the casino race this past August when Mayor Fumiko Hayashi announced that Yokohama would attempt to win one of the three licenses that the central government plans to award within the next one to two years.
Hours after Yokohama’s entry into the race, casino powerhouse Las Vegas Sands announced that it has decided to drop its pursuit for an Osaka integrated resort and would now pursue development opportunities in Yokohama or Tokyo.
Melco Resorts & Entertainment was the next to abandon its Osaka plans and to focus its attention on Yokohama. The company recently opened an office in the city to show its commitment to building an integrated resort there.
Wynn, Melco, and Las Vegas Sands were all among the 22 respondents to Yokohama’s request for information process that took place in the summer of 2018.
Many of the international companies that have expressed interest in entering Japan’s nascent casino market have pitched plans exceeding $10 billion. Wynn has not been extremely specific about its Japanese vision, but Wynn Resorts Development Japan President Chris Gordon said earlier this year that they would expect to spend more on their Japanese resort than what they had put into their Wynn Palace property in Macau.
Wynn’s Macau division launched that integrated resort in August 2016 after spending $4.4 billion on its development. Mr. Gordon also noted this year that they “would expect Japan to be the largest IR we have built.”
Request-for-concept Process
Following the announcement that Yokohama would participate in the casino license war, city authorities launched in mid-October a request-for-concept process, inviting private-sector organizations interested in running a resort in the city to submit their plans. The process will run through December 23.
Upon completion, the city will likely publish its integrated resort implementation policy in the spring of 2020 and will then open a request-for-proposal process.
Yokohama officials are eyeing Yamashita Pier as the city’s IR location, should it get so lucky to win one of the three licenses. The 47-hectare site is conveniently located not far from the city’s Chinatown, waterfront attractions, and the Yokohama Bay Bridge.
Source: Wynn Resorts declares “Yokohama Focus”
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