Inside Asian Gaming

JUNE 2018 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 45 FEATURES While issues such as tax rate, the number of licenses to be issued and entry fees have now been determined … ownership rules remain the number one stumbling block yet to be resolved. upset who we have traditionally viewed as the likely winners of those first three licenses because some of the people who operate IRs in Asia don’t play very well with other partners, let alone multiple partners. “It would be easy if someone went to MGM and said, ‘You get 40% and this company gets 60%.’ I think that’s very doable. The difficulty will be if they say ‘You get 40% and these 15 companies over here collectively get 60%.’ “That consortia and having to deal with a bunch of different people who are not necessarily into gaming, entering into negotiations and everything that is associated with it, that’s going to be very challenging.” Despite Tash’s concerns, it is clear that the operators themselves recognize the need to partner with local Japanese companies. Fellow panellist William Shen, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Korea & Japan at Caesars Entertainment Corp, said, “When Japan is looking for a Japanese integrated resort, a uniquely Japanese integrated resort, you can’t do that as (L to R) Union Gaming’s Grant Govertsen , Summit Ascent’s Eric Landheer , Caesars Entertainment’s William Shen and 2NT8’s Alidad Tash during the Asian Markets Forum “Asia North” panel session, hosted by IAG CEO Andrew W Scott , at G2E Asia. a Western company coming in without Japanese partners. I think that’s going to be a very critical part of the equation.” Either way, the details of any official government policy will be essential for any companies with an interest in Japan, as these