Inside Asian Gaming

JUly 2015 inside asian gaming 15 “It’s another world, 10 minutes from the airport.” The possibility of a casino license was a welcome bonus, he adds. So is construction of a bridge that will link Muui to Yeongjong, currently a 10 minute ferry ride away. Without the bridge, it wouldn’t be possible to move enough people to the IR, Mr Shim says. Solaire Korea plans a $3.4 billion integrated resort for the site, with $1.4 billion earmarked for phase one. The IR will include about 1,000 hotel rooms in three 55-story towers, an indoor-outdoor waterpark, a Vera Wang wedding tower and the School of FAME, as in fashion, art, music and entertainment, a creation of Tommy Hilfiger and Karl Lagerfeld to develop and showcase new talents. Eventually, an arena and residential components could be added. Mr Shim says the Muui side will house the casino, hotel and most retail components while the Silmi side would be “more serene, more exclusive” and have areas preserved in their natural state. The two islands will be linked full-time via a double deck footbridge, the lower half enclosed and climate controlled, particularly for winter months in the four-season climate that’s the rough equivalent of New York City’s. The bridge will include food and beverage outlets, retail and an ocean theater where visitors can watch re-creations of legendary naval battles from Korean history. “We are targeting the 20 million local people who live within an hour of here,” Mr Shim says. While those Korea citizens can’t use the foreigners-only casino, they can enjoy the other features of the IR. They are also a prime target for Solaire’s flagship resort in the Philippines, where Koreans comprise the largest group of arrivals and are Solaire’s second biggest international customer group behind Chinese. If it gets a Korea license, Bloomberry will have two island sites to develop and two Korea strategies to deploy. “We are targeting the 20 million local people who live within an hour of here,” Mr Shim says. While those Korea citizens can’t use the foreigners-only casino, they can enjoy the other features of the IR. They are also a prime target for Solaire’s flagship resort in the Philippines. Solaire Resort Korea Chairman and CEO David Shim In Focus Incheon International Airport, which handled 45 million passengers last year, is building a second terminal that will make it one of the biggest in the world, and has 100 million people within two hours’ flying time, including residents of Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Osaka.