In South Korea and local casino operator Kangwon Land Incorporated has reportedly announced that it is planning to expand the size of the gaming floor within its Kangwon Land Casino property by some 10% to approximately 166,690 sq ft.
According to a report from GGRAsia, the Seoul-headquartered firm revealed that it additionally intends to increase the aggregate capacity within the facility’s bars and restaurants by 71.4% from 140 seats to 240 positions. The source detailed that these projects were unveiled following customer feedback and a realization that the current 151,265 sq ft size of the venue’s gaming floor is about 60% smaller than those in most rival foreigner-only casinos.
Alluring assortment:
South Korea is home to 17 casinos but Kangwon Land Casino, which is located in rural Gangwon Province around 93 miles from Seoul, is reportedly the Asian nation’s only such facility that allows locals to gamble alongside foreign nationals. The venue opened in 2000 and purportedly hosts a selection of 169 slots and 161 gaming tables as well as an inventory of 1,191 ‘video game’ units offering baccarat and roulette entertainment.
Tenuous timetable:
Kangwon Land Incorporated reportedly proclaimed that it has now set aside in the region of $23.69 million for the ‘expansion and remodelling’ of its Kangwon Land Casino enterprise while disclosing that the subsequent completion of this campaign is to be dependent on the various schedules of any contractors it may engage to carry out such work.
Dormant debut:
Alongside the coming expansions and the state-owned Kangwon Land Incorporated reportedly explained that it moreover has plans to shortly resume running 32 dormant gaming tables within its Kangwon Land Casino. GGRAsia noted that these units were moth-balled last year following the federal government’s introduction of a range of coronavirus-related capacity restrictions.
Coronavirus caution:
Kangwon Land Incorporated reportedly furthermore asserted that it would be keeping its current Kangwon Land Casino operating arrangements until at least February 20 to limit daily visitation to 3,000 people, which is half of the property’s pre-pandemic level. This arrangement will purportedly also encompass the venue opening for only twelve hours a day from ten o’clock every morning and adhering to an array of social distancing protocols.
Favorable financials:
Kangwon Land Casino reportedly accounted for nearly 66% of South Korea’s most recent aggregated annual gross gaming revenues of some $984 million as its 16 foreigner-only compatriots saw their combined receipts for 2021 fall by 31.9% year-on-year to about $339.2 million. Citing provisional figures from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the source finished by divulging that the state-run property’s tally of approximately $644.8 million represented a boost of 74.7% when compared with 2020 while being around 46% lower than the 2019 reckoning of roughly $1.2 billion.