Indy Gaming: MGM’s $10 billion project in Osaka approved by Japan as the country’s first casino

More than 10 years ago, Nevada's major casino operating companies considered Japan as the next gambling market in the world.

However, after that, many Prime Ministers were disappointed by the indecision of the Japanese government, which had postponed or resumed this concept, and each company gradually abandoned the bidding process.

However, MGM Resorts International did not stop many years in Osaka.

Last week, the patience of the company was rewarded.

The Japanese government, represented by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, has approved the Osaki district development plan, and MGM Resorts has been able to promote the construction of an integrated resort facility of $ 10 billion.

This complex, located on 122 hectares along the waterfront of Yumezu, Osaka, will be the first casino in Japan if it is completed in 2029.

"It is a great honor for us to be selected by the Japanese government for the development of such a larg e-scale sightseeing project. I am looking forward to cooperating with the city.

The management of Osaki City approved the plan for MGM Resorts and ORIX development companies in October 2021.

In addition to gaming, this complex provides a wide range of entertainments other than gaming, including 2, 500 hotels, more than 700. 000 square meters, exhibition space, shops, various foods and drinks, and other resorts and entertainment events. It is planned.

According to Japanese media, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, "Integrated resorts are important to attract many tourists from Japan and abroad and achieve the goals of tourist destinations that emphasize the country."

On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, MGM Resorts International Manager Bill Hornbakul General Manager commented on the main discussion on the G2E exhibition gaming company. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent)

Hornbuckle said in a letter sent to an MGM employee on Friday, "building this area is one of the best places in the world in entertainment and hospitality, and is a base for sightseeing in Japan." < SPAN> More than 10 years ago, a major casino operating company in Nevada thought of Japan as the next gambling market in the world.

However, after that, many Prime Ministers were disappointed by the indecision of the Japanese government, which had postponed or resumed this concept, and each company gradually abandoned the bidding process.

However, MGM Resorts International did not stop many years in Osaka.

Last week, the patience of the company was rewarded.

The Japanese government, represented by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, has approved the Osaki district development plan, and MGM Resorts has been able to promote the construction of an integrated resort facility of $ 10 billion.

This complex, located on 122 hectares along the waterfront of Yumezu, Osaka, will be the first casino in Japan if it is completed in 2029.

"It is a great honor for us to be selected by the Japanese government for the development of such a larg e-scale sightseeing project. I am looking forward to cooperating with the city.

The management of Osaki City approved the plan for MGM Resorts and ORIX development companies in October 2021.

In addition to gaming, this complex provides a wide range of entertainments other than gaming, including 2, 500 hotels, more than 700. 000 square meters, exhibition space, shops, various foods and drinks, and other resorts and entertainment events. It is planned.

According to Japanese media, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, "Integrated resorts are important to attract many tourists from Japan and abroad and achieve the goals of tourist destinations that emphasize the country."

On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, the MGM Resorts International Manager of Bill Hornbakul General Manager commented on the main discussion on the G2E exhibition gaming company. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent)

Hornbuckle said in a letter sent to an MGM employee on Friday, "building this area is one of the best places in the world in entertainment and hospitality, and is a base for sightseeing in Japan." More than 10 years ago, Nevada's major casino operating companies considered Japan as the next gambling market in the world.

However, after that, many Prime Ministers were disappointed by the indecision of the Japanese government, which had postponed or resumed this concept, and each company gradually abandoned the bidding process.

However, MGM Resorts International did not stop many years in Osaka.

Last week, the patience of the company was rewarded.

The Japanese government, represented by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, has approved the Osaki district development plan, and MGM Resorts has been able to promote the construction of an integrated resort facility of $ 10 billion.

This complex, located on 122 hectares along the waterfront of Yumezu, Osaka, will be the first casino in Japan if it is completed in 2029.

"It is a great honor for us to be selected by the Japanese government for the development of such a larg e-scale sightseeing project. I am looking forward to cooperating with the city.

The management of Osaki City approved the plan for MGM Resorts and ORIX development companies in October 2021.

In addition to gaming, this complex provides a wide range of entertainments other than gaming, including 2, 500 hotels, more than 700. 000 square meters, exhibition space, shops, various foods and drinks, and other resorts and entertainment events. It is planned.

According to Japanese media, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, "Integrated resorts are important to attract many tourists from Japan and abroad and achieve the goals of tourist destinations that emphasize the country."

On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, MGM Resorts International Manager Bill Hornbakul General Manager commented on the main discussion on the G2E exhibition gaming company. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent)

Hornbuckle said in a letter sent to an MGM employee on Friday, "building this area is one of the best places in the world in entertainment and hospitality, and is a base for sightseeing in Japan."

Jordan Bender, an analyst at JMP Securities, believes the price tag for MGM's Osaka plan would make it the world's most expensive integrated casino resort, surpassing the $8. 5 billion CityCenter plan unveiled on the Strip in 2009. Las Vegas Sands spent $7 billion to invent Singapore's Marina Bay Sands in 2010.

According to John DeCree, a gambling expert at CBRE Equity Research, Osaka's MGM casino could surpass the combined annual gambling revenues of Resorts World and Las Vegas Sands' two casinos in Singapore. Singapore's gambling revenues rose 76% to $3. 56 billion last year, when the city reopened after two years of pandemic-related restrictions.

Osaka is one of the world's largest cities, with a population of more than 19 million people. It attracts about 12 million tourists a year, according to DeCree Text.

"Osaka's population is three times that of Singapore, and while Singapore has more foreign tourists, Osaka more than makes up for it with domestic tourism.

"Osaka is a 90-minute flight or two hours by super-fast train from Tokyo, giving MGM access to even more residents who may not have had other types of casinos for years," Declee wrote.

MGM operates two casino resorts in Macau: MGM Macau and MGM Cotai. But Hornbuckle essentially said, "I cannot emphasize enough how fundamental this (Japan) conclusion is for us as a company."

MGM's Macau profits were $674 million last year, down 44% from $1. 2 billion in 2021. In 2022, Macau market profits were the weakest in the past 20 years due to the impact of the pandemic.

MGM executives are expected to provide more details about Macau and Japan during the company's first-quarter conference call on May 1.

Caesars Palace is seen on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent)

Online poker transparency bill fails in Carson City

A bill that would have shed light on any fraud in Nevada's small world of online poker failed to make it through the state legislative process.

But veteran poker player Sarah Cholhagian Ralston, a key supporter of the bill, said the topic of poker transparency in Nevada is "too important to ignore and will continue to be."

The AB380's original draft stipulated to create a list of people with an interactive game account that has been deleted or banned by fraud.

Lalston has revised the bill and removed the word "fraud" from all two pages of documents. In addition, the statement that the use of an interactive game system could be stopped or blocked due to fraud was deleted, but instead, we only listed all the players with accounts and their status. 。

Last week, the judicial committee chairman Britney Miller (Las Vegas) said that the number of votes was not enough to promote the AB380.

Caesters Entertainment, which runs the only poker site in Nevada, based on the Series Poker world, opposed the bill for further issues to the company. Robbist's Michael Alonso stated that Caesers said, "We are doing as much as possible to prevent unscrupulous players coming (online poker sites)."

If Nevada's Gambling regulatory authorities did not ensure the great transparency of online poker, Ralston said he would r e-submit the bill during the legislative assembly in 2025.

"I believe that discussion on poker transparency in Nevada is too important to refuse it.

"I was asked this question, led by my moral principles and beliefs that transparency is extremely important to protect the fairness of the game as a no n-indifference in the poker industry," she added.

Nevada legalized online poker in 2013, but gambling companies have been operating alone, saying that there are too few staff to operate multiple sites.

Nevada is included in the Delaware State in the State Gaming Agreement, which was created in 2014 to create a tw o-state player pool, which has the lowest population in Japan. In 2017, New Jersey joined, and one year ago, Michigan joined.

Since 2012, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Western Virginia have legalized gambling in online casinos.