The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority has announced that it anticipates earning fee incomes of around $750 million as a result of its involvement in the proposed Inspire Integrated Resort being planned for South Korea.
The owner of the giant Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut along with Pennsylvania’s Mohegan Sun Pocono, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority made the revelation during a Tuesday presentation at the Bank Of America Merrill Lynch 2016 Leveraged Finance Conference in Florida while explaining that it plans to invest an already-raised $100 million for at least a 50% stake in the coming development, which is to be built near the city of Incheon in partnership with South Korean chemicals manufacturer KCC Corporation and Incheon International Airport Corporation.
According to a report from GGRAsia, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority reported that it expects to pocket 3% of all revenues once the first phase of the Inspire Integrated Resort opens in early-2020 and annual management fees of around $30 million for the length of its 24-year partnership alongside anticipated development fees during construction of approximately $45 million.
However, GGRAsia detailed that the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority had yet to sign definitive management and development agreements for the South Korean venue while its Boca Raton presentation did not include specific construction financing details.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority’s first venture outside of North America, the Inspire Integrated Resort is expected to feature a 20,000 sq ft foreigner-only casino with 1,500 slots and 250 gaming tables alongside a trio of hotel towers offering some 1,350 rooms. The Yeongjong Island development is to moreover include a 15,000-seat arena and a theme park as well as convention space, shops and restaurants with the estimated cost for the completion of its first phase running to $1.6 billion.
The American casino operator predicted that it could cost upwards of $5 billion to construct the entire multi-phase project by 2040 while proclaiming that the scheme had “the potential to be transformational” for its business.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority stated as part of its presentation that it anticipates the Inspire Integrated Resort would see a “more balanced mix of gaming and non-gaming” revenues when compared to other Asian resorts with the majority of earnings coming from the “premium mass-market” segment and only around 20% attributable to VIP players.
The Inspire Integrated Resort is one of three casinos that are due to appear in the Incheon area over the coming years as local firm Paradise Company Limited and Japanese pachinko operator Sega Sammy Holdings Incorporated are hoping to inaugurate their Paradise City property in April while a consortium that includes Caesars Entertainment Corporation wants to open its $739 million Casino Incheon project within the next five years.