MGM Osaka – Japan’s first integrated resort (IR) – is to have a 23,293-square metre (250,724-sq feet) casino with circa 470 tables and 6,400 slot machines. That is according to a Thursday report in the Yomiuri Shimbun news outlet, citing an architectural plan it requested and received from the Osaka city government.
The number of casino tables and slot machines had been outlined by Ed Bowers, president of global development at U.S.-based casino operator MGM Resorts International, in May last year, at Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Macau.
The city and prefectural authorities have teamed with MGM Resorts and Japan’s Orix Corp, and other domestic investors, to develop the JPY1.51-trillion (US$9.63-billion currently) property (pictured in a rendering), due to open in late 2030.
The main building at MGM Osaka is said in the report about the architectural plan to have a similar shape to the Bellagio resort and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States.
Bellagio Las Vegas is a property run by MGM Resorts in that U.S. gambling hub.
In the Yomiuri Shimbun report reviewed by GGRAsia’s Japan correspondent, the main building is said to be 126 metres (413.4 feet) high and with a maximum 27 floors above ground level, and one floor below ground.
That tower will have two hotels providing 1,840 rooms in total, as well as the casino and a theatre.
A second hotel-resort building is said to be 56 metres high, with 13 above-ground floors and one below ground. That part is said to include 660 hotel rooms, and a “studio” where guests can experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony among other offerings.
Another structure, dedicated to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) business, is said to have a 16.7-hectare (41.3-acre) footprint, with a building height of 27 metres, four above-ground floors and one below.
The MICE area will have two halls and meeting rooms “in various sizes”. The resort will also offer large-scale multi-storey parking.
