Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment going it alone in South Korea

The federally-recognized Mohegan Tribe has reportedly announced that its casino-operating Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment vehicle has inked a deal that will see it become the sole owner of an integrated casino resort it is hopeful of building in South Korea.

According to a Monday report from The Day newspaper, Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, which was known as the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority until a 2017 name-change, signed an ‘amicable’ agreement last quarter to acquire the 24.5% stake in the coming $1.6 billion project that had been held by local chemicals firm KCC Corporation.

Reportedly christened Project Inspire, the giant development is due to be located near Incheon International Airport and will feature multiple hotel towers alongside an amusement park and 15,000-seat arena. The newspaper detailed that the project will moreover come complete with a 20,000 sq ft foreigner-only casino offering approximately 1,500 slots as well as some 250 gaming tables.

The Day cited Mario Kontomerkos, the recently-appointed Chief Executive Officer for Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, as revealing that his firm hopes to break ground on Project Inspire during the second half of this year before opening the venue in 2021. He additionally purportedly detailed that the operator is planning to invest no more than $300 million of its own money in the project with the remainder coming from private finance initiatives.

Kontomerkos reportedly declared that Project Inspire is due to be ‘highly advantageous’ to his company as it will be ‘the only true integrated entertainment resort in northern Asia’ and sit in close proximity to the giant cities of Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai.

“In aggregate they carry some of the most affluent, mobile and fastest-growing populations on the planet,” reportedly read a statement from Kontomerkos.

The Day furthermore reported that Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, which is already responsible for Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun venue as well as the Mohegan Sun Pocono property near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, stated that its net revenues for the first three months of 2018 had decreased by 1.8% year-on-year to $260.4 million thanks to a 1.6% dip in takings from gaming alongside a 1.4% decline in non-gaming revenues.