GGRAsia – Osaka seeks clarification as MGM CEO says IR maybe 2030

Osaka seeks clarification as MGM CEO says IR maybe 2030

May 03, 2023 Newsdesk Japan, Latest News, Top of the deck

The authorities in Japan’s Osaka prefecture and city say they are waiting for clarification from partners MGM Resorts International and Orix Corp regarding the opening date for a integrated resort (IR) with casino in the metropolis.

On Monday, MGM Resorts’ chief executive and president Bill Hornbuckle had said that the scheme would “probably” open in the “first quarter [or] second quarter of 2030″. His comments were made during the group’s first-quarter earnings call.

Osaka’s Integrated Resort District Development Plan was approved in April by Japan’s national authorities after being in their hands for nearly a year. It states that Osaka prefecture and city – along with their private-sector partners MGM Resorts and Orix – will try to open the integrated resort (pictured in an artist’s rendering) in autumn or winter 2029.

The venture has been described as a JPY1.08-trillion scheme (US$7.9-billion at current exchange rates).

“The governments have not received any information regarding the possible change” in timing, said a statement attributed to the Osaka local authorities and reported in Japanese media on Tuesday. Reports added that the Osaka side was awaiting more information from the investor side.

The pro-IR politician Hideyuki Yokoyama, chosen as Osaka’s mayor in local elections last month, was on Tuesday cited as saying the metropolis would “make all the efforts to meet the timeline and to make it open as quickly as possible”.

Japanese media also reported a comment attributed to a representative of MGM Resorts Japan LLC, a local unit leading MGM Resorts’ Osaka effort. “There is no change in the timeline… The comment by Bill Hornbuckle is not official,” the person was cited as saying.

The approval of Osaka’s IR District Development Plan still leaves plenty of work before a tourism complex with casino can actually be opened in that Japanese metropolis, a number of industry commentators recently told GGRAsia.

The to-list included resolution of issues related to the land at the casino resort site at Yumeshima, an artificial island in Osaka Bay, and the timing of IR construction work relative to World Expo 2025, an international exhibition also due to be held on Yumeshima.

During Monday’s conference call, Mr Hornbuckle said that the firm and its Japanese partner Orix needed to complete land lease and other agreements with the Osaka authorities before moving ahead with the project. “Presuming this or next quarter those [deals] will get done… we are looking to break ground either late this year or first part of next year,” he stated.