May 23, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  
The only locals-casino in South Korea, the publicly-owned Kangwon Land resort (pictured), has outlined to GGRAsia some of the steps it is taking to boost its appeal to foreign players, including potential upgrade of facilities and services offered to VIPs.
In April, the property’s operator Kangwon Land Inc, announced a KRW2.5-trillion (US$1.84-billion currently) new phase for the property, that will triple the size of its casino space by 2032.
Earlier this year the resort made sales agency agreements with entities in Taiwan and in the Philippines, to tap overseas markets.
GGRAsia recently visited the resort, located three hours by road east of the capital Seoul, to speak to a casino operations manager. The person asked not to be identified by name in the story.
The manager said that currently “99.99 percent” of the property’s earnings from gaming came from local players, but that it was seeking to get the equivalent of “1 percent to 2 percent” of its “profit” from sources that might otherwise go to that country’s 17 foreigner-only operators. Kangwon Land was seeking to take the step, in response to “the government’s guidance on foreigner tourism promotion,” stated the manager.
First-quarter net profit at Kangwon Land Inc was KRW92.9 billion, up 26.0 percent year-on-year.
The resort has an existing “foreigner” gaming space with eight tables: three for baccarat, three for blackjack, one for sic bo, and one for roulette. It does not have slots. The manager noted: “It has no entry levy. The locals’ part [of Kangwon Land casino] charges a KRW9,000 entry levy.”
The person added that in the foreigner area there is “no queue” to play, unlike the general floor, which is “always packed with locals”.
Resort-wide, “we are running 62 blackjack tables out of 180 gaming tables,” i.e., about one-third of the inventory. That compared to what the manager said was circa “9 percent” blackjack tables among the table games on offer in South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos.
Aim to up bet maximums
Currently the foreigner gaming area has a KRW100,000 maximum bet, equivalent to circa US$73. That limit is conservative relative to existing foreigner-only venues in that country, said the person.
“Our new interim CEO Choi Cheol-Gyu requires us to reconsider” that betting limit, said the Kangwon Land manager, but noted that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism “controls everything” regarding Kangwon Land’s casino operations, including the number of gaming tables and maximum bet in the foreigner-focused area, and that exercise of such control was typically “in reaction to public opinion”.
The person added that “since our casino for locals is a monopoly, our profit has been stable, so we have not been aggressive on marketing,” overseas, unlike South Korea’s foreigner-only operators.
The manager said Kangwon Land was looking to raise its main-floor maximum bet limit from KRW300,000 currently, to KRW5 million for mass-market play; and to KRW500-million for VIP play, regardless of whether players were locals or foreigners. Currently the bet maximum for VIP blackjack is KRW3 million, and for VIP baccarat it is presently KRW60 million.
“Our current maximum bets were set over 20 years ago and have not reflected inflation”, stated the company representative.
As well as seeking to refurbish VIP facilities, Kangwon Land was also mulling offering private-helicopter transfer to the upland resort for high-value clients, and adding bingo and keno for the mass market.
The person said Kangwon Land aimed to “do more on customer satisfaction from now on”.
Player reinvestment, skiing+casino packages
The manager stated: “We are about to raise the comp rate [player reinvestment via complimentary services] from 10 percent to 15 percent of each player’s total betting amount; install more chairs for people to rest in the venue and for a more comfortable playing environment; and survey first-time customers” for their views on “environmental improvements” in terms of the resort’s gaming areas.
The person told GGRAsia, referring to two large-scale resorts each with a foreigner-only casino in that country: “We benchmarked against Mohegan Inspire [Entertainment Resort] and Paradise City’s casino recently for our new casino business model, but as a public company, we cannot do junket business.”
The person stated: “To attract foreigners to our resort, we need to advertise our competitiveness,” as the property has been “little known overseas”.
They observed: “We are located at 1,000 metres [3,281 feet, above sea level] and “possess a huge ski resort, which was used for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics training course”.
The manager added: “South Korea is one of the main ski destinations for Southeast Asia and Greater China [consumers], and winter sports lovers are wealthier [than average consumers], so we plan to market ‘skiing and casino’ and ‘mountainous natural environment’,” as attractions.
“Another area of competitiveness” was “safety”.
The person stated: “We can say our area is the safest in the country,” with no risk of crimes such as “confinement”. That was understood to be a reference to loan sharks that may offer to loan money to gamblers, then detain them illegally pending repayment of money and interest.
Japanese were a key target market for Kangwon Land, and the resort’s management was also positioning itself for competition from MGM Osaka, Japan’s first integrated resort (IR) with casino, even though that is not due to open until 2030 at the earliest.
“Osaka IR benchmarkers have visited” Kangwon Land, said the person, referring to market research done in advance of MGM Osaka’s opening. As a result “we must now create our new plan”, said the Kangwon Land manager.
“Chinese players” might simply “transit South Korea to reach the Osaka IR because Japan has basic tourism potential,” stated the manager.
An opportunity to boost inbound tourism to South Korea from Japan had been presented by a “passport-free travel” proposal for Japanese citizens, outlined by South Korea’s ambassador to Japan, Yoon Duk-min, in late April, said the Kangwon Land manager.
Under the proposal, Japanese would be able to visit South Korea using a simple ID document such as their government-issued ‘My Number’ card, with a reciprocal ID arrangement for South Koreans wanting to go to Japan.
Nov 12, 2024
Nov 08, 2024
Nov 14, 2024
Nov 14, 2024
Nov 14, 2024
Macau’s 2025 casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) is forecast to reach MOP240 billion (US$29.9 billion), says the Office of the Chief Executive (CE), in the financial-year 2025 budget plan published...(Click here for more)
”The business environment remains challenging in Entertainment City as gaming volumes declined. However, the gaming volumes generated by our Quezon City property more than offset this weakness”
Enrique Razon
Chairman and chief executive of Bloomberry