The boss for American tribal casino operator, Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, has reportedly declared that his firm has obtained ‘all necessary construction permits and approvals’ for the first phase of its envisioned Project Inspire development in South Korea.

Definite disclosure:

According to a report from GGRAsia, Mario Kontomerkos (pictured), President and Chief Executive Officer for Mohegan Gaming, made the revelation about his Connecticut-based company’s inaugural foray into Asia during a Thursday conference call to discuss its second-quarter financial results.

Grand plans:

Mohegan is an enterprise of the federally-recognized Mohegan Tribe and earlier revealed that the initial $1.6 billion phase of its coming Project Inspire integrated casino resort is expected to open during the final quarter 2021 featuring a five-star hotel with some 1,250 rooms, suites and villas alongside a foreigner-only casino complete with around 700 slots and 150 gaming tables. The operator previously disclosed that this first stage of the 420-acre development is to additionally offer a 15,000-seat sports and concerts arena in addition to approximately 204,000 sq ft of convention and conference space.

Kontomerkos stated…

“We have begun to mobilize construction at our development site in Incheon, South Korea, having completed our negotiations with our general contractor and following the receipt of all necessary construction permits and approvals.”

Previous partnerships:

Mohegan is responsible for the giant Mohegan Sun venue in eastern Connecticut along with Pennsylvania’s Mohegan Sun Pocono and moreover inked a deal with Paramount Pictures Corporation at the back end of last year that is to see its Project Inspire development feature a 99-acre theme park by the end of 2025. GGRAsia reported that 2018 furthermore saw the casino operator sign a ‘northern Asia distribution agreement’ with American events promoter Live Nation Worldwide Incorporated concerning the coming South Korean venture.

Quarterly declines:

Regarding its second-quarter financial results, Mohegan reportedly disclosed that its net loss had come in at just below $12.4 million, which compared with a profit of $28.6 million for the three-month period in 2018. The casino firm purportedly also divulged that income from its existing operations had decreased by 60.4% year-on-year to $22.2 million largely due to the earlier closure of the Casino of the Wild slot zone inside its giant Mohegan Sun venue.