GGRAsia – S. Korea’s Paradise Co casino sales down 12 pct in 1Q

S. Korea’s Paradise Co casino sales down 12 pct in 1Q

Apr 07, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

South Korean gaming operator Paradise Co Ltd said sales from its casino business division decreased 11.6 percent in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the prior-year period, to KRW133.3 billion (US$122.2 million).

The drop was caused by sales from table games, which were down 12.9 percent year-on-year, to KRW124.6 billion, the firm said in a regulatory filing on Monday, quoting preliminary figures.

Paradise Co did not provide a reason for the decrease in sales from table games.

Sales from machine games jumped 12.2 percent during the same period, but from a modest base, reaching KRW8.8 billion.

Paradise Co’s casino business division includes the Walkerhill (pictured), Jeju Grand and Incheon casino properties. The company operates two other gaming venues: Paradise Casino Busan and Paradise Casino Jeju Lotte. The five properties, all within the country, are only permitted to host foreign gamblers.

Table drop – defined by the company as “the amount of cash exchanged for chips by customers at the table” – decreased by 22.7 percent year-on-year in the first three months of 2015, to KRW1.1 trillion, Paradise Co said.

The casino operator broke ground in November at the site of its planned US$1.7 billion Paradise City scheme at Incheon, to be developed in partnership with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.

Paradise Co posted a 4.2-percent profit drop in 2014 from a year earlier, despite an 8.7 percent increase in revenue that was fuelled, it said, by Chinese high rollers.