Melco Resorts Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho has reaffirmed his commitment to invest more than US$10 billion into a Japan integrated resort should his company win one of the three casino licenses on offer under the country’s IR legislation.
Speaking to media ahead of the opening of Melco’s US$1 billion Morpheus hotel tower, Ho said, “We have invested more than US$10 billion in Macau already, and in order to build beyond Macau, beyond Las Vegas, it would be more than that.”
Ho added that he was comfortable with restrictions agreed to by Japanese lawmakers – which include a ¥6,000 entry fee for residents, casino floor space being capped at 3% of the total IR size and locals limited to three visits per week and 10 per month – stating Japan is “still a priceless opportunity.”
Ho’s comments follow the latest delay in passage of the IR Implementation Bill this week after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party pushed for a Lower House vote to be held on Wednesday. Instead, a group of opposition parties submitted a motion to dismiss the Chairman of the House of Representatives Cabinet Committee, Daishiro Yamagiwa – making any vote on the IR bill this week almost impossible.
Addressing opposition among the public and some government factions to casinos in Japan, Ho said, “It’s unfortunate that a lot of the general population in Japan think of IR as associated with pachinko and pachislot. People coming to an IR are not just coming here to gamble, there’s so much more to do.”
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