In Japan and the government for Wakayama Prefecture has reportedly been told that Caesars Entertainment Incorporated is planning to hold only a 5% stake in the jurisdiction’s envisioned integrated casino resort.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, this revelation came during a council presentation on the plan that would see a Las Vegas-style development costing some $4.1 billion brought to a 50.7-acre plot of privately-owned land on the Marina City artificial island. The source detailed that this scheme was first unveiled some four years ago and will now need to be submitted to a panel of federal selectors in Tokyo before the conclusion of an April 28 deadline to have any chance of success.

Promising prospect:

Home to almost 945,000 people, Wakayama Prefecture is reportedly hoping that its plan for a gambling-friendly development will subsequently be approved for one of the nation’s coming trio of 40-year casino licenses. The southern Honshu jurisdiction purportedly believes that the premiere of such a facility will help to rejuvenate the local economy by attracting millions of foreign and domestic tourists every year.

Main member:

Officials in Wakayama Prefecture were reportedly moreover told that the Clairvest Neem Ventures Company Limited subsidiary of Canadian private equity management firm Clairvest Group Incorporated is planning to control a dominant 55% stake in the proposed integrated casino resort. This Toronto-headquartered enterprise has purportedly already committed to spending approximately $715 million on the project with an additional $63 million said to have been promised by American behemoth Caesars Entertainment Incorporated.

Contributory colleagues:

Inside Asian Gaming reported that the remaining 40% stake in the envisioned integrated casino resort for Wakayama Prefecture project is set to be parcelled out to a club of additional investors, which is said to include general contractor Nishimatsu Construction Company Limited. This entity is purportedly thought to be on the line for an associated investment of around $502 million although global investment bank Credit Suisse Group AG is to serve as the largest financier courtesy of a rumored $2.8 billion exercise.

Budding barricade:

Should it receive the required government gambling license and the Wakayama Prefecture integrated casino resort could reportedly begin welcoming patrons by as soon as the autumn of 2027. However, the whole project could well be in danger after a group of locals managed to collect over 20,000 signatures last month in support of a campaign that would subject the entire scheme to a public referendum.

Direct dialogue:

Nevertheless, local officials have now reportedly initiated a previously-postponed public consultation period on the planned integrated casino resort project in an attempt to gather comments over the course of the next 30 days. This exercise will purportedly conclude on March 10 after which Wakayama Prefecture is to make a final determination on whether to submit its finished plan to the committee of federal selectors.