Inside Asian Gaming

NOVEMBER 2018 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 23 COVER STORY former Paradise Jeju Lotte, with 27 tables and 24 machines on the island’s south shore, acquired in July for US$38 million. It’s also banking on Dream Tower’s downtown location, in the midst of 5,000 registered hotel rooms and potentially six of Jeju’s eight casinos, all minutes from Jeju’s airport and cruise terminal. From Shanghai, Jeju is a 55-minute flight or overnight cruise away, with visa-free entry. A “tougher competitive landscape” has driven Bloomberry Resorts to begin a long-contemplated US$15 million renovation of Jeju Sun casino hotel’s 200 guest rooms, CFO & Treasurer Estella Tuason-Occeña says. Bloomberry, operator of Manila’s Solaire IR, purchased Jeju Sun, a 10-minute walk from Dream Tower, in 2015 and has already renovated the 50-table, 51-machine gaming floor. “It’s got potential specifically in terms of location close to China and visa-free access,” says non-executive director of junket promoter Rich Goldman Holdings, Nicholas Niglio, of Jeju. “Disincentives could go away pretty quickly.” Niglio, previously CEO of Rich Goldman predecessor Neptune Group, calls Jeju’s “medium term good, long term very good.” Shinhwa World is the largest foreign direct investment in South Korea’s history, a quantum leap beyond anything previously seen in Jeju. Ambassadeurs, the high-end London gaming club Landing acquired in April 2016 and sold 18 months later for a HK$447 million profit. “THE WHOLE WORKS” Shinhwa World, 30 minutes by car from the airport, also resembles Resorts World Sentosa in its genuine integrated resort ambitions. Strong non-gaming elements are essential because Koreans normally comprise three-quarters of Jeju visitors – the 50-minute Seoul-Jeju air route was the world’s busiest last year – and they are barred by law from entering Jeju casinos. “With that in mind then we took the option of, ‘Okay, build