Philippines-based casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp is to reopen this month – under a fresh branding – its majority-owned gaming property on Jeju Island in South Korea.
It will relaunch the venue as Jeju Sun Hotel and Casino, according to a Bloomberry Resorts filing on Monday to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Bloomberry Resorts – developer and operator of Solaire Resort and Casino in the Philippine capital Manila – has since May held a 96.23 percent shareholding in the Jeju venue, the parent said in its second quarter earnings filing in August, adding at the time that the property was closed pending renovation.
A total of 10 percent of the Jeju casino hotel is held directly by the parent, and 86.23 percent through Bloomberry Resorts’ subsidiary Solaire Korea Co Ltd.
“We are very excited to introduce… this world-class casino after only less than four months [of closure],” said Enrique Razon, Bloomberry’s chairman and chief executive, in a statement accompanying the Monday filing.
“This is our first operating overseas property, and we exerted much effort to put in place the ambience and amenities that would enrich the gaming experience,” he added.
The revamped property will feature 208 rooms and suites, and 2,125 square metres (22,873 sq feet) of gaming space, Monday’s filing said. The venue is close to Jeju International Airport.
The parent firm stated the reopening of the Jeju casino hotel this month is the first phase of its multi-stage refurbishment plan, which began in May. The second phase of the revamp is due to be completed by December.
Bloomberry Resorts also wants to invest more than US$1 billion in a new casino resort complex it is proposing for land plots near Incheon International Airport in South Korea. Mr Razon’s firm has additionally expressed an interest in investing in Japan if that country legalises casinos.
