MGM Osaka
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This integrated resort, located on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay, is set to become one of the most luxurious and profitable casino resorts ever built.

MGM Resorts, alongside Orix Corporation, spearheads a consortium comprising 20 other Japanese entities, including industry giants like Panasonic, Kansai Electric, and West Japan Railway. The resort will feature 2,500 rooms across two hotel towers, catering to a wide range of visitors, including VIP and super luxury clientele.

The resort will encompass a sprawling area, offering diverse amenities such as 13,000 square meters of meeting space, and 20,000 square meters of exhibition space. Notably, the resort will house a unique tourist-sending facility, acting as a large-scale tourism concierge to promote travel to other parts of Japan, including Kyoto, Nara, and the greater Kansai area.

The resort anticipates an 80% domestic and 20% inbound visitor mix, capitalizing on the 20 million people residing in Osaka, known for their high-capacity spending habits. There will be a charge of 6,000 yen per entry for Japanese, limited to 10 times a month.

MGM Resorts’ experience in Macau, its first resort in Asia, has provided valuable insights for the development of the Osaka resort. Macau’s focus on gaming, where it contributes 90% of total revenues, differs significantly from the multifaceted offerings planned for Osaka. The Osaka resort aims to strike a balance between gaming and non-gaming components, appealing to a wider audience. Additionally, Japanese regulators will not permit junkets so the resort will foster direct relationships with customers, moving away from the traditional junket business prevalent in Macau.

Source: https://www.webintravel.com/the-story-behind-mgm-resorts-ambitious-10billion-integrated-project-in-tokyo/

More on the recently signed agreement

Osaka IR Corporation, a joint venture between MGM Resorts and Orix Corporation, has signed an agreement with Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City for an integrated resort plan in Yumeshima, Osaka. While the casino has already been approved, this meeting was conducted to agree upon the exact location and development of the Osaka-Yumeshima area-specified complex tourist facility area.

It’s believed that the casino will have JPY¥1.8 trillion ($13.5bn) invested into it, with both MGM and Orix having a 40% stake in the company each. The remaining 20% will be split between local, Osaka-based companies, including the railway and electric power companies.

Source: https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/22621/mgm-resorts-and-orix-sign-agreement-with-osaka-for-first-japanese-casino

Osaka IR Corporation, the joint venture between MGM Resorts International and local partner ORIX Corporation, has officially signed with Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City the Implementation Agreement for development of an integrated resort on Osaka’s Yumeshima island.
Signing of the agreement marks the final step in the certification process and paves the way for the consortium to begin construction works.

Source: https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2023/09/29/certification-process-complete-as-mgm-resorts-joint-venture-signs-implementation-agreement-for-osaka-ir/

on 5 September, it was learned that the completion date had been pushed back by nearly a year from late 2029 to the fall of 2030. This is leading some to wonder if more delays won’t be on the horizon in the years leading up to the proposed opening.
On the same day, Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City announced the completion of a draft agreement covering the construction, operation, and other arrangements for the resort. When the agreement is approved by the national government and formalized, the operators will receive Japan’s first-ever casino licenses.

Nevertheless, developers are wasting no time and plan to begin the groundwork this fall, while the Expo facilities on the island are also still being constructed. The resort facilities will begin construction in the spring of 2025, just as the Expo is getting underway. If all goes according to plan, the integrated resort will be finished in 2030 and mainly run by the Japanese arm of MGM Resorts International and Japanese conglomerate Orix.

Source: https://soranews24.com/2023/09/09/japans-first-casino-resort-pushed-back-to-2030/

MGM Resorts is looking to begin construction for its integrated resort in Osaka, Japan by middle to late next year, MGM President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle has revealed. The announcement comes after the company signed a licensing agreement with Marriott International last week, expected to draw high-end travelers to its Las Vegas' operations.

In an interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal, Hornbuckle said that the group expects to sign the implementation agreement for its casino resort in Osaka in autumn. Speaking to the publication, he said: “It’s early in the game, but for us, it’s been a 12-year journey. We’re looking forward to signing our area development plan this fall and starting in earnest on the ground, hopefully, by middle to late next year in terms of pylons and beginning construction. We’re shooting for a 2030 opening.”

He further confirmed that the property would be on reclaimed land, the Yumeshima Island, which was “originally built to compete for the ’72 Olympics, and it’s been sitting there since.” Hornbuckle noted that the site is slated to house the World Expo in 2025, "so a lot of the infrastructure and some of the other things we need for tourism will be brought to bear."

Source: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2023/07/24/68023-mgm-looking-to-begin-construction-of-japan-39s-first-casino-in-2024-says-ceo-bill-hornbuckle

The Kishida administration has decided to approve a license to build Japan’s first major casino resort in Osaka, aiming for a grand opening in 2029.
“The Integrated Resort will attract many tourists and have an economic impact,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said today. “It’s an important initiative for promoting ourselves as a tourism-oriented country.”

The official decision is expected to be announced tomorrow after a meeting with related government ministers.

Source: https://akihabaranews.com/osaka-casino-resort-headed-for-approval/

The government is set to approve a plan by Osaka Prefecture and city to open what will be Japan's first casino resort in 2029, government sources said Wednesday.
The development comes as movement restrictions introduced during the coronavirus pandemic are removed, leading some local governments to reassess the idea of attracting tourists to a so-called integrated resort, or IR, comprised of a large hotel, conference rooms and gambling areas.

Source: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023/04/274d3fbadf39-govt-to-approve-plan-for-japans-1st-casino-resort-in-osaka.html

Osaka’s prefectural and city authorities have allotted US$4.5m in the budget for the forthcoming fiscal year to their joint pursuit of an integrated resort (IR) with a casino. This represents a 6.4% decrease from financial year 2022.
The Osaka IR promotion bureau will receive the budget allocation, with JPY115m intended for “political measures” and the remaining funds for personnel expenses. MGM Resorts International is part of a consortium with ORIX that was selected as Osaka’s IR partner for its bid to host an IR. MGM-Orix has proposed to invest US$8.38bn.

Source: https://europeangaming.eu/portal/latest-news/2023/02/20/130421/osaka-assigns-us4-5m-to-ir-development-in-2023-budget/

MGM Resorts International’s capital contribution to the widely anticipated casino-resort project in Osaka, Japan is expected to be $2 billion to $2.5 billion, according to S&P Global Ratings.

The ratings agency said MGM’s stake in the project is unlikely to exceed 50%, and that the most likely breakdown is 40% apiece for the casino operator and partner Orix, with the remaining 20% controlled by local investors. That echoes sentiment from the gaming company that it won’t hold a majority in the Japan venue.

Source: https://www.casino.org/news/mgm-could-spend-up-to-2-5-billion-on-osaka-casino/

Potential delays on Integrated Resorts in Japan.

Both Nagasaki and Osaka have been vying for the opportunity to secure the rights to host Japan’s first integrated resort, or failing that, have the opportunity to develop the one after that. A total of three integrated resorts are planned for Japan, which should transform Asian land-based gambling at a time when Macau is divesting from gambling and looking to boost its tourism industry elsewhere.

But Osaka and Nagasaki are understandably growing impatient with prefectures originally expecting a ruling at the beginning of the autumn, which is now passed. Both prefectures are also hoping that they can start construction right away, and hopefully in the spring of 2023. The integrated resort decision has been delayed multiple times already, with the final construction date possibly pushed back beyond 2025-2026.

Source: https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/integrated-resorts-decision-in-japan-likely-not-coming-until-2023/