Grand Korea extends Seoul, Busan casino closures to Feb 1

Jan 18, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL), an operator in South Korea of foreigner-only casinos, said on Monday (January 18) its two Seoul venues and one Busan site will stay closed until 9am, on February 1. The Seoul venues have been temporarily suspended since November 24 and the Busan site since December 1, as Covid-19 countermeasures, but an existing closure notice for the three venues, had been due to expire on Monday.

The company also noted in its update filing to the Korea Exchange that – as a result of the extended closures – it was upping its estimated loss regarding the group’s casino net sales, to about KRW27.05 billion (US$24.5 million), from KRW21.5 billion previously. The revised forecast was – as with previous estimates – based on the firm’s average daily net sales from July to September.

The Grand Korea Leisure sites staying shuttered until February 1 are Gangnam COEX and Gangbuk Hilton in Seoul, operated under the Seven Luck brand; and Busan Lotte in the southern port city of Busan.

The company said in Monday’s filing that the reason for the venues staying shut was because of the renewal of Covid-19 social-distancing measures in the nation.

The South Korean government said on Saturday it was extending until January 31 so-called Level 2.5 distancing measures – the second highest stage of alert in a five-tier scheme – for the Greater Seoul area, and Level 2 for the rest of the country. Such measures have coincided in some cases with the closure of casinos in the country.

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