American casino giant MGM Resorts International has reportedly announced that its newly-established MGM Resorts Japan subsidiary has followed rival Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited in becoming an official partner in the bid to bring World Expo 2025 to the city of Osaka.

According to a report from Asia Gaming Brief, Japanese officials are hoping to beat out competing propositions from Paris, Baku and Yekaterinburg in November and be selected to host the prestigious quinquennial event in a new facility due to be constructed on a 173-acre portion of the man-made Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay.

Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International established its MGM Resorts Japan subsidiary in September and is reportedly hoping that the exhibition site will subsequently be selected as the home for one of Japan‘s imminent integrated casino resorts featuring hotels, galleries, shopping arcades, convention facilities and a casino.

Jason Hyland, President and Representative Officer for Tokyo-headquartered MGM Resorts Japan, reportedly described Osaka as ‘an outstanding choice’ to host World Expo 2025 due to the fact that the city of over 19 million inhabitants has ‘so much to offer’ encompassing ‘great hospitality, superb support and some of the world’s technology leaders’.

“MGM Resorts [Japan] is proud to be an official partner and is ready to help proactively with Osaka’s candidacy in cooperation with the Japanese government,” reportedly read a statement from Hyland.

Last month saw James Murren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for MGM Resorts International, tell Games Magazine Brasil that his firm was ready to spend up to $9 billion in order to bring an integrated casino resort to Yumeshima Island. To back up his desire to win a Japanese casino license, the executive has reportedly made 15 trips to the nation over the past three years and has even recently held meetings with Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura along with Ichiro Matsui, Governor for the Osaka Prefecture.

“We want to create something that reflects Japan’s cutting-edge technology and food culture,” Murren reportedly told Games Magazine Brasil. “I think regulatory, economic, cultural and social opportunities in Japan are vastly greater than what we would find interesting in the Philippines.”