It’s all systems go for U.S. tribal casino operator Mohegan Sun’s planned casino project in Incheon, South Korea.
Mitchell Etess, president and chief executive of Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, announced on Thursday that the company is eyeing to start constructing its new casino resort before the year ends.
“The company is well into the planning stage of its [South] Korean joint venture, Project Inspire, where we anticipate breaking ground before the end of calendar 2017,” Etess said in a statement.
In May, Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment—formerly known as Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority—signed a deal with the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) in connection with the construction of the Inspire Integrated Resort. The casino project is a consortium involving Mohegan Sun, IIAC and South Korean chemicals manufacturer KCC Corp.
The project, which is expected to be finished in three to four years, will feature a three-tower luxury hotel complex with 1,350 five-star and six-star guest rooms, a Paramount Studios-themed indoor-outdoor amusement park, and a 20,000 square meter casino with 250 gaming tables and 1,500 slot machines.
On Thursday, the company said its capital expenditure for the Inspire resort amounted to $14.6 million for the nine months that ended in June 30. The company allotted a $1.6 billion for the first phase of the scheme, while the total commitment stood at $5 billion for multiple phases over a 20-year period. Mohegan is targeting to open the Incheon casino resort by 2020.
The U.S. casino company, which is also known as Mohegan Sun, expects to earn a development fee during construction (around $45 million) and a 24-year management fee (3 percent of all revenues [plus] around $30 million per year).
The Incheon casino project is Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment’s first foray outside of the United States. Currently, the casino company operates Mohegan Sun, a large-scale casino complex in Connecticut and Mohegan Sun Pocono in Pennsylvania, in addition to the gaming facilities it manages in Washington, Louisiana and Atlantic City.
For the second quarter of 2017, Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment posted net revenue of $350.2 million, an 8.3 percent growth compared to the same period last year, while its net revenue also grew 68.1 percent year-on-year to reach $43.8 million for the three months that ended June 30.
