Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort (pictured) in South Korea, which had a soft opening on November 30 for non-gaming amenities, is likely to be “cash flow positive” by the end of 2024, says Jody Madigan, chief operating officer of its promoter, Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority.
He was speaking on Thursday during the earnings call for the United States-based group’s fourth-quarter fiscal results to September 30.
The first phase of Mohegan Inspire has been described as a US$1.6-billion project.
Mr Madigan stated he had been present for the launch, and that post-opening, there had been “good foot traffic on the weekends” at the resort, near Incheon International Airport.
The COO stated that he was “happy to report that our team performed flawlessly” for two large-scale events held at Mohegan Inspire shortly after opening.
Reviews – including on social media – had all been “raving about the quality of property, and the service of our team,” said Mr Madigan.
Raymond Pineault, chief executive of Mohegan Gaming, said in prepared remarks that the company – which has the bulk of its business in the U.S. – achieved adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$399.9 million for fiscal-year 2023.
He said this was “the second highest in our 27-year history, compared with adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2022 of US$403.9 million, which was the highest to date.”
The CEO added: “We continue to see growth in our digital gaming segment and with the recent soft opening of Mohegan Inspire on November 30th, our diversification efforts will further enable Mohegan [Gaming] to achieve strong results.”
The group’s chief financial officer (CFO), Carol Anderson, said on Thursday’s call that the company was not expecting to need further funding to “complete construction and development of the project” in South Korea.
“As previously announced, we agreed to make an additional investment of up to KRW155 billion, or approximately US$119 million in the aggregate, to fund costs to complete Mohegan Inspire,” she reiterated.
The CFO said that as of September 30, Mohegan Gaming’s total debt – excluding unamortised debt issuance costs and discounts – was US$3.27 billion, up US$176.2 million from the June quarter.
Mohegan Inspire formally applied “last week” for a permit to run gaming for a foreigner-only casino to be opened at the venue, and faces a “two-month” wait for approval, which might come between February 2 and 8, 2024, just before the February 9 to 12 lunar new year holidays in that country.
That is according to an official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism – a public department with a role in overseeing the casino sector – in response to a GGRAsia enquiry.
(Updated Dec 15, 12.11pm)
