Kangwon Land, the only casino resort in South Korea where the country’s nationals are allowed to gamble, has decided to extend – for a sixth time – the temporary closure of its gaming venue. It now says it will reopen at 6am on April 20, a date which would signify the resort having almost two months of suspension for its gaming business.
The initial casino closure notice was described by the resort’s promoter, Kangwon Land Inc, as a precautionary measure related to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has severely affected the country.
Kangwon Land Inc had originally announced a temporary closure of the casino from noon on February 23 until 6am on February 26, and then extended that on five consecutive occasions, the latest extension running until Monday (April 6).
The firm said in a Friday filing – at the time it flagged the sixth extension to the closure – that it was anticipating its lost casino sales to amount to KRW209.6 billion (US$171.9 million) from the start of the casino closure on February 23. The estimate was based on Kangwon Land’s daily casino revenue in full-year 2019, added the scheme’s promoter.
The company had previously flagged a closure of its non-gaming operations from March 2 until March 22. Non-gaming facilities at the complex were to open gradually, depending on the evolution of the Covid-19 disease in South Korea, stated Kangwon Land Inc in Friday’s filing.
At least two South Korean operators of foreigner-only casinos – namely Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd and Paradise Co Ltd – had also announced they were temporarily closing down their gaming operations until Monday (April 6), in line with the country’s effort at curbing the further spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As of Thursday, South Korea had recorded an aggregate of 10,062 cases of Covid-19 infection and 174 deaths, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The country – the third hardest-hit nation in Asia after China and Iran – reported 86 new cases on Thursday, according to the latest official data.
