Paradise Co Ltd, an operator in South Korea of foreigner-only casinos, says its casino revenue in August rose by 762.1 percent month-on-month, to nearly KRW59.49 billion (US$51.4 million). The August tally was up 244-percent on the KRW17.29 billion achieved a year ago, said the company in a Thursday filing.
The surge in casino revenue was largely driven by an increase in table revenue during the month of August, according to the firm.
In July, the company had reported a dip in casino revenue coinciding with an uptick in Covid-19 infections in South Korea, a situation that at the end of July resulted in the authorities introducing so-called “Level 4″ social distancing protocols – the highest state of alert – for the Seoul and Incheon areas, two important operating markets for Paradise Co.
Table revenue increased by 1053.3 percent month-on-month this August, to just above KRW57.49 billion. Judged year-on-year, August table revenue rose by 273.4 percent, from the KRW15.40 billion achieved in August 2020.
Machine-game revenue this August reached nearly KRW2.0 billion, up 4.2 percent from the previous month. It was also up 5.3 percent from the prior-year period.
The figures are based on the casino-business division comprising Paradise Walkerhill (pictured in file photo), in South Korea’s capital Seoul; Jeju Grand on Jeju island; Paradise City at Incheon outside Seoul; and Busan Casino in the southern port city of the same name.
Paradise Co reported higher casino revenue in August despite the temporary shutdown of its Paradise Casino Walkerhill for several days in August, as a countermeasure against Covid-19. Paradise Casino Walkerhill was shut from August 14 to August 17 due to confirmed Covid-19 cases on the premises; that venue was paused again during August 21 to August 24, as an effort to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Paradise Co’s aggregate casino revenue for the first eight months of 2021 was KRW178.95 billion, down 25.6 percent on the KRW240.45 billion in the same period of 2020. Table revenue for the January to August period was KRW163.28 billion, down 26.6 percent from a year earlier.
Table drop – the amount of cash exchanged for chips by customers at the table – increased by 28.0 percent month-on-month in August, to KRW183.86 billion. August’s year-on-year table drop performance was also up 49.0 percent on the KRW123.40 billion in August 2020.
