GGRAsia – Grand Korea’s casinos top million visitors in Jan-Aug

Grand Korea’s casinos top million visitors in Jan-Aug

Sep 09, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

Grand Korea Leisure Co Ltd (GKL) – which operates three foreigners-only casinos in South Korea under the Seven Luck brand – announced its properties welcomed over 1 million visitors during the first eight months of 2015.

The 1-million mark was surpassed on August 26, the firm stated, quoted by local news outlet BusinessKorea.

The report added that the number of visitors to GKL’s three properties from January to August 26 was up by 12 percent in year-on-year terms. That was despite a sharp drop recorded in June and July, which investment analysts say was related to the confirmation of several cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea.

The MERS outbreak was officially declared over by the Korean authorities at the end of July.

BusinessKorea’s report added that GKL’s gaming revenues for the year-to-date “were about the same” compared to the same period of 2014, as growth in mass play compensated a decrease in the VIP segment.

“Unlike other casinos, Seven Luck has been trying to become a leisure place for not only VIP customers but also general travellers,” GKL’s chief executive Im Byung-soo was quoted as saying.

GKL last month announced its net income nearly doubled year-on-year in the second quarter of 2015. But judged quarter-on-quarter, Grand Korea’s net income slipped 42.4 percent.

GKL was established in 2005 as a subsidiary of the state-owned Korea Tourism Organization. The firm has two foreigners-only casinos in the country’s capital Seoul, and one in the southern port city of Busan.